How To Love
by wwefaneam41
Summary: Kendall DiBiase is the youngest child and only daughter of Ted DiBiase Sr. Her life is basically turned upside down when the 23 year old is told that, because of her families mistakes, she must marry a man she knows nothing about. John Cena/OC & more AU
1. Chapter 1

**This is my new story that I've been working on for a little while. Hopefully you enjoy it. **

**Summary: Kendall DiBiase is the youngest child and only daughter of Ted DiBiase Sr. Her life is basically turned upside down when the 23 year old is told that, because of her families mistakes, she must marry a man she knows nothing about. How will things pan out for her? Will her life be better or worse than when she is living with her parents?**

* * *

><p>I'd just gotten out of the shower and was getting dressed when Trent Beretta, my father's most trusted bodyguard, came to my room. He told me that I had 15 minutes to get myself presentable and go down to the meeting quarters. Apparently my father had some matter he wanted to discuss with me.<p>

It wasn't the first time this happened so I wasn't too worried. I gave that up years ago when I realized that my father would do anything in his will to get more money and territory. All three of my brothers were turning out to be just like him. I didn't know how my mother stayed sane knowing that her husband and sons were the most prominent drug lords in Mississippi. My family practically ran the state, which is exactly why I insisted on attending an out-of-state college. My mother was a mess for about a month after I moved to Tennessee for four years. My father, on the other hand, couldn't have been more pleased, except for the fact that I couldn't cause distractions.

My brothers were the apples of Father's eye from the day they were born. Mike DiBiase was 10 years older than I was and was more interested in getting girls into his bed than watching over his only sister. Theodore DiBiase Jr. was 6 years older and saw no other use for me than to cause distractions while they hit up some random warehouse. Then there was Brett who was exactly 4 minutes and 32 seconds older than me. He always had to be the center of attention and hated that he had to share even a single piece of DNA with me. And since Father never wanted a girl he sent me away unless he needed something, so I was in a boarding school until I was 15. Then I went to the public school in Clinton and served as a distraction whenever they needed me to.

Usually it was some kind of distraction while my brothers and the men who worked for my father made one run or another. Keeping all eyes on me so they could do their job. I've always had a feeling that drugs were not the only illegitimate business my family was involved in but I never asked. Growing up, Father made sure that I knew 'proper etiquette', meaning I was seen but never heard. It was honestly never that much of a problem for me; my brothers outshined anything I've ever accomplished, according to my father. My mother tried to make up for it by spending Father's money on me but no matter how many Fendi purses the women bought me, nothing could take away the sting of being my father's least favorite child.

I sighed as I took one last look in the mirror before walking out of my room. Trent was waiting for me just outside the door to escort me to the study. I didn't let my mind wander too much on the way because I knew Father would demand my full attention. As we entered, Trent had a smug smile on his face that made me uneasy. I started to feel like this wasn't a normal distraction he needed me for.

"Father? You sent for me?" I questioned softly.

"Ah, yes. Kendall," he said without enthusiasm, "I seem to have found myself in a bit of a sticky situation. It looks as though one, or a few, of the shipment sot Boston were tampered with somehow and the Cena's are not happy with us."

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't quite understand where I fit into this," I replied.

"I didn't think you would; never were the brightest crayon in the box," he said, laughing at my expense.

I looked down at my feet and felt my face flush with embarrassment as I realized we weren't alone. Out of the corner of my eye I could see some of the men who worked for my father standing around the room. When I looked back up to where my father was sitting behind his desk I saw all Teddy and Brett standing on either side of him while Mike was standing behind him. The cruel amusement in their eyes made my eyes sting with tears that I blinked back. Father always told me that crying was the ultimate sign of weakness.

"We had to make a deal with the Cena's," Mike started.

"They promised to not start any kind of war with us if we give them something in return," Teddy continued.

"The Cena's have many connections and have been extremely good to us. This isn't the first time they've received a bogus shipment and we cannot promised that it will be the last," Brett explained further.

"However, we are willing to look past any small incident that may occur in the future under one condition," a tall and rather large man said. He wasn't too bad looking and he had piercing blue eyes. His hair was cut short and I could from accent that he wasn't from around here.

"May I ask what that condition is, sir?" I asked quietly. I had no idea who this man is or if I was even allowed to be talking to him, but I could only assume he was a Cena.

He confirmed my suspicions when he answered, "it's John, John Cena. And the condition, which your family has already agreed upon, Ms. Kendall DiBiase, is that you become my wife."

**Ted's POV**

I had to keep from laughing as I saw the emotions run over Kendall's face. In a matter of seconds she went from shocked to angry to fearful to submissive. I had to admit, Dad trained her well. It was no secret in our family that Kendall was seen as extra baggage, we had no use for a girl. So when the Cena's made their request Father agreed at once, without any hesitation. That was almost two months ago and the wedding has been planned out the way John wants it.

"When?" I barely heard come from Kendall. I hate when she whispers during a meeting.

"Kenny, dear sister," I said softly before yelling, "We can't hear you when you're being so damn quiet!"

She jumped at the sudden harshness in my voice and this time I didn't bother stopping the chuckle that rumbled low in my chest. She looked down at her feet and I knew she was trying to compose herself. We all watched as she took a deep breath and rose her gaze back to our dad. She gave a polite smile before asking again, this time in a conversational tone, "When?"

"You leave for Boston this afternoon," Dad answered, "The wedding is in one week. You're going early to get better acquainted with your new family and to find out your husband –to-be's expectations of you."

"The rest of us will arrive the day before the wedding and will leave the day after," Mike informed her. She nodded slightly and put a smile on her face but I could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

"Come on Ken," I said as I walked towards her, "I'll walk you back to your room and we'll send for someone to help pack your things while we talk."

A couple men around the room chuckled lightly. Everyone knew that I was the hardest on Kendall. She often got in my way or did something to royally piss me off. Sometimes I think she did it on purpose. But this time I wasn't going to let her ruin the truce we now have with the Cena's.

John walked closer to us and took a hold of Kendall's hand, "You can bring two suitcases with you. Whatever doesn't fit, we'll ship to my house in West Newbury. We leave in an hour."

She gave him a polite smile before I pulled her form the room. I waited until I heard the door shut before speaking.

"You better behave Kenny," I warned her. She pulled out of my grip and stormed to her room. I smirked when she tried to shut the door in my face. Did she forget that I'm stronger than her or is she really just that stupid? I caught the door and walked in, slamming it behind me, "Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you Kendall Grace."

She walked to her closet and pulled out her suitcases before laying them on her oversized bed. She started throwing her clothes into the suitcases. The silent treatment she was trying to give me had no effect on me, if anything it made me angrier. I smirked when she glared at me as she packed.

"I said we'd have someone do that while we talk," I growled.

"I don't have to listen to you. You're not the boss of me," she snapped at me.

I crossed the room in three large strides and smirked as the back of my hand connected with her face, the sickening sound of flesh against flesh echoing throughout her room. She fell to the floor with a hand holding her cheek. I could already see a welt forming.

"Damn it, Teddy," she mumbled, "Father is going to kill me if this bruises."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to backtalk me," I told her, "Now that I have your attention, I'll continue what I was trying to tell you in the hallway."

"I know Teddy. I have to behave, follow directions, do anything and everything they tell me to," Kendall interrupted me. Part of me wanted to hit her again but the other part that wanted to see where she was going with this won out. "I've been doing this for the last 23 years; I think I know how to handle myself."

"I'm just saying that if you mess this up, no one will stop me from making you regret it," I told her, "You still belong to us, remember?"

I watched as her eyes widened in fear and smirked when she tried to run past me. I pushed her back to the floor and sat on her stomach to hold her down while I took my knife out of my pocket.

"Teddy stop!" she screamed, "Mother told you not to do this anymore. She told you to stop it."

I ignored her as I took my phone out of my pocket and called Brett, "Hey bro, can you come help me out in Kendall's room?"

"What are you doing?" he asked a smirk in his voice, I don't doubt he could hear Kendall screaming in the background.

"I want to brand her one more time but she's not making it easy and we only have 25 minutes before she was to meet Cena," I heard him chuckle then mutter something that sounded like 'be right there' before hanging up.

I looked down at my sister who was still struggling beneath me. I remembered when we first started cutting our last name into Kendall's hip. It was two years ago, when she moved home after graduating from college. If I remember correctly, she was third or fourth in her class and graduated with two Bachelors in Business Management and Accounting. Our dad never cared about her accomplishments, only that she could look after the books for us and we didn't have to pay any one. He never fully gave her control of it though; he always said that a woman doesn't need to know what goes on behind closed doors.

One day the boys and I needed Kendall to distract some of the groups we were fighting with at the time. She refused and told Brett that she didn't want anything to do with our family's illegal happenings; she didn't want to be a part of the DiBiase name any more. So Brett, Mike, and I forced her to, then for her disrespect to our family, we cut her and carved our family name into the skin on her hip bone. Whenever she told us no about something after that, we'd retrace the letters. Now, after two years it's become a permanent scar.

The door opened and Brett walked in as a satisfied smirk crossed his face.

"Guys please don't do this," Kendall begged, "Mother told you to stop."

"What Mother doesn't know won't hurt her," Brett replied before he grabbed Kendall's wrists, holding them above her head with one hand and put the other over her mouth to muffle her screams.

**John's POV**

My current state of mind? Annoyed. I just sat through an hour long meeting with these uptight, pretentious DiBiases'. They seemed to forget that the only reason I made the trip down to Bum Fuck Egypt Mississippi was to collect my soon to be wife, not talk about business.

I was following one of their damn servants to Kendall's room, it was time to go. I can't stand being in this damn house anymore. If Kendall is as stuck up as the rest of her family, we are going to have a problem. I'll teach her to be humble any way I can. We turned a corner and I saw Ted and Brett walking out of a room at the end of the hall, each with sickening smiles on their faces.

"Man, Dad is gonna kill her if he sees that bruise," Brett told his brother.

"He isn't going to see it. It's not like he'll say goodbye or anything. She'll have it covered before she has to leave anyway," Ted laughed, "Besides, she was being a stupid bitch, and I couldn't help it."

Brett replied something but I couldn't hear it because the stupid servant knocked on the door they'd just walked out of, blocking out his voice.

"Oh no!" a voice said from inside, "Please hurry Tasha! I cannot be late. Father will kill me if I am."

"It'll be alright Kenny," another voice spoke, "It's not like your father will be there to say goodbye anyway." I thought I was having déjà vu for a minute before the door opened to reveal a girl who couldn't be older than 16. "Come in, please. I'm afraid she's not quite packed yet. Those jerks were holding her up."

"Tasha," the first voice scolded, "You can't talk like that around other people. Me, yes. Strangers, no. If that gets back to them they'll eat you for dinner and I won't be here to stop them this time."

I stepped into the room, rather amused at the scene playing before me. Kendall was running from her closet to her bed to her dresser and back to her bed again. She looked over to me and gave me an apologetic smile.

"I'm so sorry. I started packing when I first got back here but then Teddy," slight pause, "distracted me. Then Brett came and he," another pause, "joined in on the distraction. And they've only just left. I'm almost done I promise."

I stood just inside the door and inspected the beauty in front of me. Her hair was dirty blonde with dark brown, almost black streaks all over her head that hung in little burls to the middle of her back. I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to have her riding me, throwing her head back, and her hair touching the inside of my thighs. Oh my god I'm going to get a hard-on just thinking about it. Moving on. Her grey eyes held some kind of fear in them, even when she smiled. They looked red and puffy, showing that she'd been crying and her right cheek looked red and slightly swollen. Oh so that's what they were talking about. She was wearing the same black shirt she'd worn earlier but had changed from white short shorts to dark blue skinny jeans that made her long legs look even longer. It made me wonder what it would feel like to have her bare legs wrapped around my eyes as I pound into-

"I think that's it," she said, interrupting me from my dirty thoughts, "I'm not sure what the weather will be like in Boston, but since its November, I figured it would be colder than it is here. Is my outfit okay? Or do you want me to wear something else?"

Wait a second, did she really just ask me what I wanted her to wear? Damn, they trained this one well. I smirked as I realized that she was giving me complete control and we aren't even married yet.

"Come here," I said in a low voice. When she hesitated I repeated my demand more firmly and smirk grew as she walked towards me.

When she got close enough I grabbed her hips, turned both of us around and pushed her against a wall. She gasped when her back slammed into the wall and I could see fear well up in her eyes. My hands travelled up her sides and back down again to rest at her hips. She winced when I dug my thumbs into her hips and I immediately stopped. There was no way I pushed hard enough to hurt her.

"What's wrong?" when she didn't answer I became frustrated, "Damn it Kendall. What is wrong?"

"They cut her, sir," a voice from behind me spoke quietly.

Kendall's gaze left the floor to glare over my shoulder, "Tasha," she pleaded, "you promised."

"He was getting mad," Tasha responded, "I didn't want him to hurt you because of what those jerks did."

"Show me," I demanded as I moved away from the wall. Kendall didn't move, "If you don't show me yourself then I'll just force you."

"I should finish packing," she said and tried to walk past me.

"You just said that you were done," I reminded her.

"C-can I show you later? I mean, we just put gauze and tape over it and I don't want to pull it off because I'll have to redo it," she begged not meeting my eyes.

"Show me the spot," I growled.

I watched as Kendall silently pulled her shirt up and shifted the hem of her pants down a bit. There was already blood seeping through it and I knew it had to be deep. I sighed as I thought about what to do next.

"I'll have someone meet us at my house when we get there. If it needs stitches they'll be able to do it at the house," I told her, "Now let's get your suitcases I need to get out of this damn house."

She nodded before dropping her shirt and walking over to the bed. I heard her zip up her suitcases and watched as she pulled them to the floor with a loud thud. When Tasha handed her a back pack, Kendall looked at me, "Do I get a carry on?"

She smiled when I nodded and took the bag from the younger girl. They hugged tightly and Kendall whispered something into her ears before kissing her on the forehead. She walked towards me and I took one for her suitcases.

"Are you ready to start your new life with me?" I asked her.

She didn't answer until after we left the house, got her things into the rental car, got situated inside, and were on our way to the airport.

"I don't know," she answered quietly. Hey, at least she's honest.


	2. Chapter 2

**I really appreciate the response I've gotten for the first chapter. As requested, here is the second. Let me know what you all think!**

* * *

><p><strong>Kendall's POV<br>**

The whole plane ride was awkward, to say the least. I was too nervous to sleep and I didn't know what to say, or if I should or could say anything. I had to use the nasty germ infested plane bathroom because my cut was bleeding so badly and I needed to change the bandage. That's the only time I actually spoke to John. I asked him if I could pass by and he asked me why, and then just nodded when I told him. I think he was worried that I'd run from him. But seriously, we were on a plane, where could I have gone?

I sighed as he handed me my carryon and we walked off the plane towards baggage claim. My thoughts were so jumbled and I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe right. I think I finally let it sink it and I feel completely empty. I've only truly been in what I thought was love once and it wasn't even returned. But I've been hoping that he married someone better than me that maybe there would be someone better who would fall in love with me. Now, I realize that isn't going to happen; I'm going to be stuck in this marriage until one of us die or he gets sick of me and personally I hope one of them happen soon.

I was on the escalators surrounded by a ton of people when I thought I heard someone call me by a name only one person in my life has ever called me. I looked around searching for the familiar face, more importantly the familiar eyes. At the end of the escalator is where I found him, "Ken doll?" he called up to me.

"Oh my lanta," I said under my breath.

His blue eyes, as always, seemed to bore into my soul and find out my deepest fears with one look. I never thought in a million years I'd run into him here, in Boston, Massachusetts but here he is, standing in front of me. I ran the rest of the way down the escalator, pushing past the people in front of me and jumped into his waiting arms for a long overdue hug.

"Barbie doll? What are you doing here?" I asked when he set me back on the ground. My fiancé, John Cena, was the last person on my mind. I totally forgot about my current situation when I heard him call my name.

"I'm picking up a friend. He just got back from picking up his fiancé, their getting married next week and I'm the best man," he told me, "Now, Ken doll, what are you doing here? I didn't know that your family did on-site business in Boston. Are your brothers here too?"

"Uh," why was I here again?

"Randy Orton. Thanks for coming to get us," a voice from behind me said, oh yeah that's why; "I see you've met my fiancé."

"Wait, what? You know each other?" I asked John.

"Yeah, we've been friends for a while. How do you know him?" he interrogated.

"My father worked with Mr. Orton a bit when I was younger and our mothers grew pretty close. Our families used to take summer vacation together. And for a while, whenever father would get sick of having me around on my breaks from school he'd send me to stay with the Orton's, or anyone else who would take me," I explained.

"Until he realized that we treated you well, and that you were actually happy anywhere that wasn't your own house," randy continued, "Hold on. John, did you say that my Ken doll was your fiancé?"

"Yeah, the DiBiase's fucked up another shipment and we finally got fed up with it. So I took the one thing everyone has been offering them millions of dollars for, except I didn't pay for it," John responded.

If I didn't feel unwanted by my father before, I definitely did know. I wasn't a person or a human being, nor did I have feelings. In my father's eyes I was nothing but property. I don't know what hurts worse, the fact that people were offering to pay money to 'get me' or that father just gave me away from free. It gives a whole new meaning to the word 'priceless.' I kept my eyes locked on the floor but I could feel Randy's mind reading eyes burning as he stared at me.

"Well I'm not going to stand around a damn airport all day. I had to sit through a fucking hour long business meeting with those fucking idiots and then I had to sit through a silent plane ride home. Right now, I want to be in my own home and in my own bed," John said before walking away from us and towards baggage claim.

"Ken doll, he didn't mean it like that," Randy tried to reason as we followed to where John was waiting for my suitcases.

"Is it true? Have people been offering my father money for me?" I asked his silence gave me the answer that he couldn't speak, "it's okay Barbie doll. It's kind of funny, actually. I've always known that Father never wanted me; he has never hidden that fact from anyone. But he always seem to outdo himself every time he reminds me how much he wishes I was never born."

The look on his face was sad but he didn't respond, he knew I was right.

I was quiet for the better part of the trip to West Newbury, mostly because I wanted to be sure that I had control over my emotions. Finding out that my father was willing to sell me off, threw me off course, I hadn't been expecting that and I didn't want to risk a breakdown if I tried to talk. What finally broke my silence was when Randy pulled up to a driveway that was blocked off with high black gates. He punched in a code and the gate slid open. My eyes grew as he drove closer to the giant house.

"Where are we?" I asked quietly, slightly awestruck.

"This is my home. Your new home, our home," John replied from the front seat.

"It's beautiful."

Randy stopped the car and got out to help John get our bags from the trunk. As I stepped out of the car, I looked up at the three story house I was going to be living in from now on.

"Well, I gotta get going," Randy said after he put my suitcases inside the front door.

"You're leaving?" I asked, trying to not sound as panicked as I felt.

"Yeah, Ken doll. You should get your things settled and get to know your fiancé. He's a good guy," Rand told me as he pulled me into a hug.

"Barbie doll, please don't leave me," I whispered into his large chest.

He grabbed my head lightly and made me look up into his eyes, "You're gonna be just fine, I promise. Sam, Alanna, and I will be over later for the wedding shower."

He squeezed my shoulders and placed a kiss on my forehead before getting back into his hummer and driving away. It took me that long to realize what he'd said.

"Wait! Wedding shower? Tonight?" I called after him, but he was long gone. I stood in the same spot staring down the driveway. I didn't know where John was or if he even cared. For once I was as alone as I'd always felt and it scared me.

"Are you going to come inside or stay out here and freeze to death?" I heard John ask me. I don't know how long I was standing outside, but it was long enough for me to be cold.

He laughed when he saw me contemplate the idea. He walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, moved my hair off my shoulder and kissed the side of my neck before whispering in my ear, "I'm not ready for you to die, yet."

Then he spun me around, picked me up to throw me over his shoulder, and carried me inside. I couldn't stop the tears that formed in my eyes at his harsh words form falling. I wiped them away quickly before he sat me on the floor.

**John's POV**

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

"No."

"Are you tired?"

"No."

"Do you want to watch TV?"

"No."

"Do you want to look around?"

"No."

"Do you want to unpack?"

Scoff, "no."

"Do you want me to take a look at that cut?"

Silence.

"Do you want me to get someone over here to look at it in case it needs stitches?"

"It doesn't."

"How do you know?"

"It's not that deep."

"It was bleeding really badly."

She sighed and I could tell that she was trying to figure out how much to tell and if she could trust me. "The last time they cut me was a couple weeks ago. They didn't think a scar was enough so they decided to try to make a tattoo. They, um, looked it up on the internet, I guess, and found a way to do it with a needle and an ink pen. But they didn't disinfect any of it first. When they were done, it actually looked like a tattoo but a couple days later it started to burn and hurt really bad. When I could take it anymore I went to my mother and she took me to the doctor. It had got infected and they prescribed some kind of antibiotic for it. This time, they wanted to take the ink out, so it is deeper than usually but they've done it this deep before. It's only bleeding so badly because of the infection."

"How long have they done it? Why do they do it?" I asked.

She took another deep breath. It seems like her father raised her better than I thought, if someone asked her a question she was to answer, no matter what. "It started just after I graduated college. I'd been gone for the better part of four years and I was used to not being used all the time, I could tell someone 'no' and not have any consequences for it. But they needed me to cause a distraction and I didn't want to. I told Brett that I wasn't going to do it and that I didn't want anything to do with the family name or what they do. They forced me to anyway and then branded me with my last name. For the past two years, whenever they were mad at me or needed to relieve some kind of stress, they would cut me. This time Teddy told me he didn't want me to leave without knowing where and who I would always belong to."

I smirked, "Well you don't belong to them anymore. You belong to me."

"I'm not a piece of property," she hissed, when she saw the anger flash over my face she took a step back, "I'm sorry."

"I was actually hoping that you'd do something early on that would piss me off. I wanted you to experience your punishment instead of me having to tell you. I didn't expect for you to mess up less than an hour after we got home, but it actually makes me happy," I told her calmly. I think the fact that I was calm scared her more than if I hadn't been.

"What is my punishment?" she asked quietly.

"I just told you I'd rather show you than tell you. Follow me," I told her before leading her up to the third floor. I brought her to the last bedroom in the hall that didn't have any windows. There was a large bed directly in the middle of the room and the walls were painted black. It had a kinky feel to it and I could tell that she felt uncomfortable being in there with me.

"Take your clothes off and get on the bed," I instructed before walking out of the room and locking the door behind me.

I've always taken great pleasure in other people's fears and it would be no different with Kendall. I'd been in contact with her brother, Mike and found out all of her weakness and fears. I have been looking forward to this for two months.

Her biggest fear of all? Snakes.

**Randy's POV**

"Sam, I don't think I can help her this time," I told my wife as I drove back to John's house.

"Why would you think she needs help? She isn't in her family's house anymore, they can't hurt her," she assured me.

"Yes, but John has a temper. And if she upsets him, I don't even want to know what kind of punishment he could think up," I explained.

"Well, if it's anything like your punishments for me, I'm sure she'll do just fine," she smirked.

"That's the thing though. I don't want him to force sex on her for doing something that pisses him off. And for another point, I don't control you, if anything you control me. You definitely wear the pants in this relationship. But you should have heard what he said about her earlier. He basically told her that she was nothing more than a piece of property. People have been offering her dad money to 'take her off his hands' for years now and he basically just gave her away. You should have seen her face, Sam. She has been treated like dirt her whole life, she deserves better than that," I said.

"Then tell John that. Show him how to treat her. That's the only way you can help her in the end."

I sighed as I pulled up to the gates and waited for them to open. "Maybe you're right."

"Babe, I know I'm right," she said with a smirk.

"I think I've rubbed off on you too much. You're smirking like me more than I do," I laughed as we got out of the car.

"What's so funny?" John asked when he met us out by the car.

"Randy thinks I smirk too much," Sam answered.

"Women, I know you smirk too much," I countered.

"Coming from the smirk king himself? I don't think his vote counts," John responded.

"Fuck you too," I said.

"Randall, language," Sam hisses as she pulled our sleeping daughter out of the backseat, causing John to laugh.

"Whatever, where's my Ken doll," I asked.

"She's inside, getting ready still."

"Getting ready? She was ready earlier, her clothes were fine. Did you tell her to change?" I asked suspiciously.

"No, she wanted to shower. Especially after she had a little run in with Jake," John said with an evil smile.

My eyes grew wide, "Jake? As in Jake the snake? As in your python? What the hell John! That girl is deathly afraid of snakes!"

"I know. She crossed the line. She should know better than to talk back to someone," he said with a shrug as we followed him inside to the kitchen.

"What did she say?"

"We were talking about how her brothers' cut her-"

"They do what?'

"And when I asked her why she said it was because they wanted her to know who she belongs to-"

"Doesn't sound like much back talk to me."

"Then I told her that she doesn't belong to them anymore-"

"Good."

"Because she belongs to me now-"

"You cannot be fucking serious."

"She yelled at me, saying she wasn't a piece of property-"

"Which she isn't."

"So I locked her in a room, tied to a bed. No clothes on-"

"If you touched her Cena-"

"God damn Randy. Do you want to know what happened or not?" he asked, I nodded, "Then stop fucking interrupting. I put some dead mince all over her and the bed and let Jake out of his cage onto the bed-"

"I'm going to fucking kill you Cena."

"I don't think she'll talk back to me any time soon."

"Oh my God," Sam said under her breath. When I looked at her, she wasn't even paying attention to the conversation, her gaze was directed at the top of the staircase and when I looked I saw why.

"Cena what the fuck did you do to her?" I asked.

"I didn't do a damn thing," he answered.

"The hell you didn't," I countered.

Her normally tan skin looked pasty and she was still visibly shaking. Her eyes looked even emptier than before.

She looked down at her clothes self-consciously, "Am I dressed okay? I can go change if you want," she said quietly.

John and I both shook our heads no. She looked stunning in a pair of white skinny jeans and a blue sweatshirt that made her grey eyes look bright, despite the emptiness of them.

"Ken, sweetie, are you okay?" Sam asked her when she reached us in the kitchen.

"I'm fine Sammy," she answered in a small voice.

"Don't lie to my wife, Ken doll," I said sternly.

"Barbie doll, I'm not lying. I'm fine, really," she told me.

"What's the story behind Barbie doll and Ken doll?" John asked her.

I turned and glared at him, "It's really none of your business."

"When I was younger, I needed surgery and my mother wanted me to have the best doctor money would buy. It was just another thing she did to ease her guilty conscience for how much my father hated me. The doctor was in St. Louis and when my father found out that I would be able to travel home for six months he asked the Orton's to take me. He didn't want my mother to be away from him for that long. He couldn't live without the sex," Kendall started to explain.

"Ken doll, don't. He doesn't need to know," I interrupted.

"Randy," she whined. I knew she'd tell him anyway. It was the way she was raised, if I wouldn't let her tell him now, she'd tell him when I left.

"Whatever," I replied.

"One day after my surgery I wanted to play Barbie's but Randy was the only one home. So I begged him to play and he finally gave in after like three hours of begging him. He told me that the only way we could play was if I was Ken because my name sounds like Ken doll. And ever since then that's what we've called each other," she finished.

"Why do you listen to him but you won't listen to me?" I asked slightly frustrated.

"Because I know I don't have to listen to you right now," she answered simply, "I don't belong to you and he hasn't told me I have to listen to you."

"Damn it, Ken doll. You don't belong to anyone," I all but shouted.

She looked down at the floor and I knew she wouldn't ever believe me. Not after John put that fucking snake on her.

"Randall, language," Sam hissed.

"She's sleeping babe, she can't hear me," I said rolling my eyes.

"The boys still think I belong to them though," Kendall said quietly.

'Kenny, what are you talking about?" Sam asked.

She sighed, "Before I left this morning, Teddy and Brett were, uh, helping me pack-"

"No, they were cutting you. Don't lie to protect your brothers Kendall," John interrupted.

"Fine, Teddy and Brett were cutting me and afterwards-"

"They were doing what?" I shouted but of course she ignored me.

"Afterwards, Brett told me that no matter what, they'd always have control over me. He said that when they screw up another shipment the Cena's will punish me for it. He said that's why you wanted me. He said you all think that hurting me will hurt them. Basically he thinks you're all stupid because they couldn't care less about me. They think this is just another job for me, that I'm causing the distraction, again," she said.

"Is that what you think?" John asked.

Kendall shrugged, "I don't know. You haven't really told me what you want from me."

"Well what do you want?"

I was completely shocked by his question, and I think Ken was too. She wasn't used to people asking what she wanted.

"Wh- what do I want?" she questioned, slightly unsure of what he meant.

"Do you want to be just a distraction? Do you want to go back to your family? Or do you want to see what your life will be like here? If so, I can talk to my dad and brothers and we'll figure out what to do about the shipments they'll be fucking up for the fun of it," he said, "But decide quickly, my parents and brothers will be here soon."

"Brothers? Don't you have any sisters or anything?" she asked, the panic in her tone not going unnoticed.

"Focus Kendall. Do you want to go home or do you want to marry me?" he asked again.

"Don't send her back," I said quietly, "They'll be even angrier if you send her back. They'll punish her worse than you or I could ever imagine."

"What do you mean?" John asked me.

"Barbie doll, Teddy told me he'd make me regret going back home. The last time he told me that ended badly," Ken told me just as quietly.

"I know Kenny. It was my fault, I'll never forget it," I reminded her.

"What happened?" John asked.

"She couldn't look at me for almost a year. I thought she'd never trust me again," I said slowly.

"Why?"

"Because it was my fault and they told her that I'd hurt her the way they did if she had any sort of contact with me," I explained.

"What did you do?" Sam asked.

I looked up at Kendall, wanting permission before I told them. She wouldn't look at me and I knew that she was remembering what happened. Her cheeks were slightly flushed with a mix of embarrassment and fear and I regretted doing it.

"Ken," I whispered. She looked up at me, pleading me with her eyes not to tell them the truth. "Are you sure?" she wanted me to lie. It was the first time she's ever asked me to lie for her. She nodded slightly before looking back at her hands folded in her lap.

I sighed before pulling something out of my ass, "We were on vaca in West Palm Beach," truth, "The guys went out to some bar or club of some sort. Ted was supposed to be the one watching her but he told her that she wasn't allowed to leave the condo. I talked her into going out with me, I just wanted to her to have some fun," okay, so far I haven't lied, just not the full truth, "when they got back, they were totally trashed and asked her what she did when they were gone. Ken doll doesn't lie; she would have gotten into more trouble if she did. They got pissed and definitely made her regret it. But I think I regret it more than she does."

When I said that last sentence Ken looked up at me and her eyes held something that I never wanted to see, pain. I hurt her; I killed another piece of her that they hadn't taken away from her. I had always thought she'd regretted what we did, but the look in her eyes right now is telling me that she didn't regret a thing we did that night.

And just as fast as it came, the pain was gone and covered up with the emptiness she'd had when she first came downstairs. I've never felt lower than I did right now. I just took something that was unbelievably special to her and threw it away. I am such an idiot.

Thankfully, the other two didn't see our little interaction, or just pretended not to.

"What did they do?" Sam asked

"They beat her up, really bad, and then refused to take her to the hospital. Her dad wouldn't let her mom take her either," I told them.

"How bad was it?" John asked.

"I want to stay here. I'll marry you, just please don't make me go back," Ken said quietly.

Just then, we heard the front door open and the Cena crew announce their arrival.

"Then you'll stay and we'll get married," John told her, "We'll figure out what to do about the shipments and we won't blame it on you. It's not your fault that your family are pretentious assholes."

He stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her to the front room to meet his family.


	3. Chapter 3

**Kendall's POV**

I think John's mad at me again, but I'm not sure why. I mean, he locked me in a bedroom, an actual bedroom this time, and said he'd see me in the morning. I tried to sleep earlier but I couldn't, I felt like that snake was still on me every time I closed my eyes.

My chest started to tighten and my eyes stung with unshed tears. I couldn't stop them from falling, so I cried silently, sitting on the large bed. This isn't how my life is supposed to go, at least this isn't what I wanted for my life. I really shouldn't be complaining though, I've lived a pretty decent life. The only thing that I didn't have growing up was love and my mother just threw money in my face and told me to buy whatever I wanted. I was spoiled and rich but I wasn't like the other girls in at the boarding school and public school I attended. I didn't flaunt the money my parents had because I wasn't proud of how they came about it.

I didn't use my parent's money to my advantage or to get higher up in my classes. I studied and did my homework and worked my butt off to be Valedictorian of my graduating class in high school. I worked even harder in college but it didn't matter how hard I worked, it never impressed my father. That's all I ever really wanted, my father to be proud of me, but it'll never happen.

And then there's Randy. I've known him for such a long time and he is the first person who has truly cared about me. Or at least I thought he cared, after tonight I'm not so sure. He regretted what he did that night, he regretted us. I knew he never loved me, not the way he loves Sam, but I thought he had some love for me, but he doesn't.

The thought of Randy made me cry even harder. Everything was falling apart and I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. And I still didn't know what John expected of me as his wife. I'm assuming the usual cook, clean, sex thing, but I don't know if that is what he wants. Like, is he even attracted to me? Or why he even made the deal over me in the first place? Or if he does expect me to have sex with him, will he be faithful to me? Will I be able to make him happy? Am I just here for arm candy? What sort of things are going to set him off? How am I supposed to act? Who all knows that this is some type of arranged marriage?

Oh my gosh, I don't know anything about the wedding. Did someone already pick out my dress? How will they know if it fits me? How long have they been planning this? Who all will be at the wedding? Is it going to be a small thing or a big thing? And the reception?

I don't know how long I sat there thinking about what was going to happen in the next week but I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know is that I'm laying down in bed when I know I was sitting in it earlier.

I opened my eyes and realized that this isn't the room I was crying in. Then I felt something tighten around my waist, for a second I thought it was the snake. When I felt breathing on the back of my neck I realized that it was a person and by the way they were nuzzling their face into the back of my neck, it was definitely John. My heart beat quickened when his hand found its way to the hem of shirt and snuck underneath it. He flattened his palm on my stomach and pulled me closer to him, pressing the full length of his body against mine. I closed my eyes tighter when he started kissing and gently biting on my neck. I gasped loudly when he bit down hard where my neck and shoulder meet.

"Good morning," he whispered in my ear, "How did you sleep?"

I shrugged slightly, not wanting him to know that I was up most of the night crying. I just wanted him to let me go. Apparently he didn't like my silence because he bit my neck hard again.

"How did you sleep?" he growled

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat, "Decently."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked and I nodded, "I think you're lying. It certainly wasn't me I heard crying at 4 in the morning."

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, ashamed for being so loud, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"What was wrong?"

"Everything," I said with a sad laugh.

"Anything I can make better?" he asked before going back to his assault on my neck.

"Probably not," I answered, trying to ignore the pleasure he was making me feel.

"You never know until you try. Ya know, you need to open up to me more. If I'm going to be your husband I need to know why you're sad all the time," he told me.

"My father threw me away like a lousy piece of trash to cover up one of his many mistakes with another one," I replied as I pulled away from him and got out of the bed, "I had a nasty snake crawling all over me for 2 hours and Randy told me he regretted being my first. How about you try to fix any of that."

I ran out of the room and into the closest bathroom I could find, suddenly feeling unbelievably sick. I emptied what little was left in my stomach from the dinner we had with his parents and brothers last night into the toilet. Then continued to dry heave until I felt someone pull my hair away from my face and hold it back.

"Randy lied to us last night?" John asked from his spot on the floor behind me.

"Not exactly, he just didn't tell you the whole truth. But don't be mad at him, I asked him not to, kind of," I replied.

"I'm sorry about the snake," he told me.

"No you aren't," I responded with a shrug before I started heaving again.

John rubbed my back until my breathing went back to normal and I sat back. He sat behind me and put me in between his legs, making me lean back onto his chest.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you yesterday," I said quietly, "I shouldn't have and I won't do it again. It's just that, I know this doesn't excuse it, but you caught me off guard with the comment that my father gave me away for free. He doesn't do anything for free so the thought that people have been offering him money for years but you say you'll take me without giving him anything and him agreeing, it's just another way for him to tell me that he hates me."

"I guess I shouldn't have said it the way I did. We've always heard rumors from the guys about you but I always assumed they were exaggerating. I mean, some of the things were pretty harsh, but now I'm starting to think that some of the things they said doesn't even come close to how bad things really were for you," he told me, I think that was his way of apologizing.

"I don't know what you heard, but I'm sure that some of them were just rumors-" I started, trying to defend my family.

"One of the rumors was that you were sickeningly obedient and loyal to your family, no matter how badly they've hurt you. I see that one is true," he interrupted.

"I'm sorry about this morning. And that I woke you up last night," I told him trying to change the subject.

"Don't worry about it. We'll talk more later. Right now we need to get ready. I'm taking you into Boston for fittings. Will it be awkward for you that Sam is your maid of honor?" he asked me.

I sat up and turned around to face him, "Why would it be awkward? Other than Tasha, she's the only women who doesn't look down on me like the rest of my family."

"I was just wondering because of what you said about Randy," he explained, "Does anyone else know?"

"I don't know. Sam might know about it, just not the details. Other than my brothers and father, you're the only person I've told," I said looking down at the tile floor.

"Why did you tell your brothers?"

"It's like Barbie doll said last night, and like what you just said. My father basically trained me to be obedient. I don't like to lie to people and I don't like to upset people. So when they questioned what I did when they were gone and why there was a used condom wrapper in the trash in my bathroom I had to tell them," I explained, my cheeks flushing the same way they did last night when Randy brought up the subject.

"Alright, well get a shower and I'll go make breakfast," he told me as he stood up from the floor and walked to the door.

"John," I called before he closed the door behind him, "Thank you, for last night and just now."

**John's POV**

The whole way to the dress shop in Boston I kept stealing glances at the beautiful figure sitting in my passenger seat. She wore a pair of jeans and solid white tennis shoes paired with a loose fitting black sweater pulled off her left shoulder. Her hair was pulled to the side in a braid and she was playing with the end that was tossed over her shoulder in front of her.

When she came out of the bathroom after her shower earlier, hair all wet and wrapped up in a only a towel, I wanted to push her against the wall and rip the towel off her. I closed my eyes as I drove along the highway, remember how she looked so vulnerable yet willing to give me what I wanted. Remarkably I refrained from taking her then and there, I am going to try to wait as long as I can before we are married. But as soon as I get her alone on our wedding night, she is all mine and whether she wants to or not, she's going to give herself to me.

"Seeing as I haven't been in Massachusetts for more than a day, I don't exactly know all of the laws, but I thought it was a general nationwide law that you need to have your eyes open when you drive. I don't know about you, but when my eyes are closed I can't exactly see where I'm walking, much less driving," Kendall said, once again interrupting my daydreams about her.

I looked over at her and she had the cutest smile pasted on her face that I've ever seen.

"Ya know, I think that's the first smile I've seen from you that wasn't directed towards Randy," I told her, "I like it," I added when she looked down to her lap. She looked back up at me with a smile that was even larger than the first.

"John, can I ask you something?" she said slowly.

"You just did," I teased.

She took a shaky breath before continuing, "What do you want from me? I mean, I know we're getting married and everything, I guess I just would like to know what that everything entails."

"You're wondering if I plan on consummating the marriage," I asked and she nodded, "That is usually what happens in a marriage. As my wife, you have certain things that you need to take care of. Sex is one of those things. So yes, I do plan on having sex with you and to tell you the truth, I'm looking forward to it."

Her cheeks flushed pink and she looked to her lap again, "I don't know if I'll be any good."

"Then I'll just have to teach you," I said with a smirk, "What do you expect out of me as your husband?"

She looked at me in surprise, "Did you really ask me that? I mean, I've never really thought about it because it's never been my choice to expect anyone to behave a certain way. My mother basically did everything my father told her to do and she never questioned him."

"Well, I grew up with my parents being equal in their marriage. My dad did the business and was the main money maker for our family, but he never belittled my mom. She worked just as hard as he did raising us 5 boys. There were times when she did things he disagreed with and there were always consequences but he never placed her underneath him," I said.

"Can I ask that you don't hit me?" she asked quietly.

"I can't promise that. I have to admit that I have quite a temper and I know how to use it," I told her honestly; "I'll only hit you if I'm provoked."

She nodded and I could tell that she was upset, but it didn't really matter. I won't make promises I can't keep. I've already seen that she will test me, she already has. I'll let her know the boundaries any way I have to.

"I'm not gonna call you Kendall anymore," I announced after driving in silence for a while, "I'm going to call you Priceless."

"Uh, why?"

"Because that's what you are to me. You are priceless," I explained with smile but it turned to a frown when I saw the hurt expression on her face, "That came out wrong. I just meant that no matter how much someone offered me, I'd never give you up."

"My father always said that everyone has a price. I think that might be one of the reasons it upset me so much that he gave me to you for free. He's never kept it a secret that he didn't want me but the fact that money means so much to him and he could have gotten, what millions, for me. He chose to throw me away, it shouldn't hurt as badly as it does. I should be used to him resenting me after all this time, but I've always hoped that he would learn to love me one day," she said with a shrug.

"What if I learn to love you?"

"I could learn to love you back," she whispered as I pulled into the parking lot of the mall.

A smile made its way to both of our faces as we got out of my mustang and walked to the front of the car. I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to me. With my thumb and fore finger I gently held her chin and pulled her face up to mine for a kiss. Her arms wrapped around my neck and I was about to deepen the kiss when I heard catcalls from behind me.

**Sam's POV**

Randy and I were waiting for John and Kendall at the mall for the fittings. We saw when they first pulled in and from what I could tell they were having a pretty serious conversation. I made a mental note to ask Kenny about it when we got alone. They got out of the car together and did something that shocked me to a whole other planet.

"Sam, am I really seeing this right now?" Randy asked when I opened my door to get out of his Hummer.

"If you're seeing them making out, then yes you really are seeing this," I told him with a laugh in my voice.

Personally, I was glad to see it. Kendall looked genuinely happy when she got out of the car, something that I have never seen before. But of course, my idiot husband had to break it up by whistling at them. Kenny pulled away first and I could tell she was embarrassed that we'd caught them. As far as I know, she has never even had a boyfriend so this is first kiss material.

Randy and I joined them and walked towards the mall together. I thought it was a little strange that Kenny didn't say anything to Randy, but I figured it had something to do with her being embarrassed that we'd caught them at such a personal moment. John quickly diminished that thought when he whispered over my head to Randy.

"You hurt her last night," he said simply.

I didn't understand what he meant by it, but apparently Randy did because he looked over at John and then to the ground.

"Hey Priceless, can you go get me a smoothie?" John asked Ken as we passed the food court, "Get yourself whatever you want as well. You didn't eat a lot of breakfast and I don't know how long the fittings are going to take."

He handed her some money and she walked away from us without question.

"Did she tell you?" Randy asked.

"Yes, but I wish you would have," John answered, "She was up until 4 this morning crying. When she finally calmed down enough to fall asleep, I went into the bedroom and brought her to mine. I woke her up this morning and asked her what was wrong. She tried to get out of the conversation by saying everything but I wouldn't let her."

"What did she say?"

"It was a mixture of things. Her father giving her away, the snake thing, which I admit is my fault, and what you said about regretting it," John told him.

"Can you please explain to me what is going on right now because I am extremely confused," I interrupted.

Randy sighed and John looked at him, mouth agape, "You didn't tell her?"

"Obviously not. What do you regret doing Randy?" I demanded.

"Ken doll might have had a small crush on me when we were younger," Randy admitted.

"Don't beat around the bush Randall. You tell her or I will," John threatened, "And trust me, it's something that's better coming from you."

"I was her first," Randy said quickly.

"Her first?" I asked, "Wait, hold on. Like her first, first?"

"Yeah."

"And you told her you regretted it?" I shouted, "Randall Keith Orton! Why would you do something like that? Weren't you just telling me that she's been treated like crap her whole life? You just added to that by telling her you regret taking her virginity."

"I didn't mean it like that. I regretted it because of the consequences. Her brothers beat the crap out of her. Not only was she sore from the sex, but her ribs were broken and bruised. She had bruises everywhere on her body and I don't even know what else. That was my fault, I got her beat up and I'll regret that for the rest of my life," he defended, "For almost a year, the girl wouldn't look at me. She could barely talk to me and I still don't know if she actually trusts me. She didn't even tell me that her brothers were cutting her."

"That's been going on for 2 years, I think she said. Since she got home from college. They carved their last name into the skin above her hip bone. It's a permanent scar. No one knew except for her brothers until it got infected a few weeks ago. Then she told her mom and she told them to stop, but they wanted to do it once more before she left yesterday," John explained.

"She isn't going to trust you for a long time after what you said last night, Randy," I said.

"One banana-strawberry smoothie for a Mr. John Cena," Kenny said as she joined us again.

"What did you get for yourself?" John asked her.

"A pretzel," she answered with a smile, "And a sandwich from Subway. I'll share if you want some."

"No, that's fine you need to eat. Let's go find you a wedding dress," John said.

"I have to pick one out myself?" she asked, almost choking on a large bite of her sub.

"We'll help," Randy assured her.

"Actually, I'll help. It's bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding day," I told them.

"Why? It's not like she'll be wearing it for very long anyway," John said with a smirk as Kendall's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"John, you really aren't helping matters right now," I responded.

"Can they please stay?" Kenny asked quietly, "I'd rather see what John thinks of the dress, just to make sure he likes it."

I went to argue but the look on Randy's face told me not to. I had to remind myself that while I was brought up to be independent, Kendall Grace DiBiase was brought up to be obedient and submissive. She would worry for the rest of the week until the wedding about John not liking the dress and would probably end up showing it to him anyway.

I always thought it was so unfair, the way they treated her. I wasn't around the DiBiase family often but from what I could tell they were horrible to her. When she was anywhere near them they'd act as if she didn't exist or find something to demean her with. She was a beautiful woman but she held herself like a scared little girl and I didn't know how to help her.

"If that's what you really want Ken. After all, it is your wedding," I replied making her smile. I guess that's how I could help her. People never went out of their way to make her happy so just the smallest action could make her smile.

Most people, in my position, would probably be pissed that their husband took another women's virginity, but somehow I didn't think it was a bad thing. Probably because I'd rather it be someone who truly cares about her than someone who was just using her. One of my biggest fears with them making her cause distractions for their runs was the kinds of distractions she'd have to be. I always worried that they'd force her to turn tricks, I'm still not convinced they didn't, but I was glad that they hadn't been able to take away at least one piece of her innocence. Nope we'll leave that to my husband. And then the idiot would break her by saying he regretted it.

As we walked into the boutique I hit him upside the head, "Women, what the hell was that for?" he asked.

"You know what it was for," I said slightly angry, "We'll talk about it later. I just needed to get that out of my system now."

He shook his head, "I didn't mean it like that Sam. Come on, I thought you understood why."

"Randall, we'll talk about it later. We aren't going to argue in front of the soon-to-be newlyweds. We'll make them not want to get married," I said smiling at Ken who was trying to hide a giggle and failing miserably.

"Priceless, why are you giggling like a school girl?" John asked her.

"They sound like an old married couple. I'd walk to the park down the street from my old high school and there would be old people sitting on the benches along the paths. I would always hear them arguing and the women would always hit the guy and he wouldn't understand why. I always thought it was funny and kinda cute," she explained.

"I'm not old," Randy grumbled.

"That's so cute. Where did you come up with 'priceless'?" I asked.

"Oh wow, look at this dress," Kendall gushed, stopping John from answering, "Holy crow. Never mind, it's like super expensive."

"If you like it then you should at least try it on," John said pulling the dress from the rack, "And I just came up with on the drive over here. I was just thinking about how that's what she-"

"Sam, come help me look over here. We need to find you a dress too right? What are the wedding colors anyway?" Ken interrupted again, making John sigh not bothering to hide is annoyance.

They went back and forth like that while we continued to browse the dresses and I could see John's frustration growing each time she would interrupt him. I knew that he would snap at her soon and I knew we needed to find a dress quickly. Just as I finished that thought, Kenny walked out of the dressing room wearing a dress that looked absolutely stunning on her.


	4. Chapter 4

**John's POV**

Priceless was finally in a dressing room and I was sure that I'd finally get to answer Sam's question. I was starting to get angry that she kept interrupting me.

"Okay, since she isn't out here to interrupt, I told her in the car that I was going to start calling her Priceless because that's what she is to me," I heard Randy scoff and realized that he took it the same way she had, "Not like that, it has nothing to do with her family. It's just-" I didn't get to finish my thought as Kendall walked out of the dressing room.

The dress she was wearing was a simple floor length dress, none of the ridiculous poofiness at the skirt. It had simple beading along the chest and the inch-wide straps over each shoulder gave notice to how small she was. Hugging her slim body in all the right places, the cream colored dress was a perfect match to the low-key event I'd planned.

"What do you guys think?" she asked self-consciously.

I couldn't find the words to describe how beautiful she looked. I knew that this was the dress that I wanted to see her walk down the aisle. And by the speechless looks on Randy and Sam's faces, I knew they were thinking the same thing.

"You hate it don't you? It's too plain, I knew it. I'm sorry this is taking so long. We're on dress number five, I don't think we'll be able to find one that even looks halfway decent," Priceless ranted as she turned around and headed back into the dressing room.

"No, don't," I said finally finding my voice. She turned around and looked at me with questioning eyes, "I love it. It looks amazing. I can't even begin to explain how amazing you look right now."

Her eyes lit up at my compliment and she smiled brightly, "Really? You like it?"

"Ken doll, this is definitely the one. I don't even know what to say. You are going to look unbelievable when you walk down the aisle," Randy assured her.

The light on her face dimmed a bit when he talked and I know he saw it. I could tell he wanted to talk to her but he wouldn't embarrass her in front of us. She looked over to me for approval so I stood up and walked over to her.

"You look beautiful," I told her, "Now let's get you out of that dress and into your other clothes. We have plans with some friends in two hours back home."

"Wait, friends?" she asked panicking again.

"Yes friends. Priceless, let's focus. You always seem to take the unimportant pieces of information in and forget the parts you are supposed to hear. We can talk about friends on the way home."

She nodded slightly, swallowing the blush of embarrassment that was making its way up to her cheeks, and picked up the skirt of her dress to turn around. When she walked back into the dressing room I took a deep breath to try to calm the anger I felt brewing.

"Why does she have to question everything?" I asked.

"Most of the time she just wants to make sure you're happy with her," Randy answered, "But you have to remember that this is all new to her. She is scared right now, even if she won't admit it. She doesn't know what you want from her."

I nodded, still trying to fight off the anger.

"Friends aren't a part of her life John. The only ones she actually has are Randy and the help at her parents' house. Even then, a lot of them would tell on her if she did something she wasn't allowed to. The girl is 23 years old but they treated her as if she was a child her whole life. Kenny only wants you to be happy, but she isn't sure how to do that."

Randy was about to add something when the dressing room door opened and Priceless walked out wearing her jeans and sweater. Her smile had faded and she wouldn't look at any of us. It annoyed me that she could go from ecstatic to depressed in less than ten minutes.

"Ready?" I asked. She looked up at me and gave me a smile that barely even reached her cheeks. I rolled my eyes when she looked away and headed towards the check out. She went to pull her wallet out of her purse just as I finally caught up to her, "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Paying for the dress," she said quietly.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I thought I was supposed to."

"Who said you were supposed to?"

"Well, no one. I just thought that- well since you've paid for everything else- I don't know," she stumbled through an explanation.

"How about you let me do the thinking from now on, okay?" I told her.

She nodded and looked away from me. The girl was too damn sensitive, she needs to grow thicker skin because I wasn't about to apologize every time I hurt her feelings. She was starting to get on my nerves with her naïve personality.

"Randy, Sam. We'll see you guys later," I said when we got out to the parking lot.

Alright, bye," Sam answered while Randy just waived.

"Bye guys," Priceless said, shocking us. It was the first thing she'd said since I snapped at her in the store.

We walked to my car and I opened her door for her and waited until she sat down before leaning in to kiss her. When she turned her face away from me I grabbed her thigh tightly.

"Don't do that again," I growled. I slammed the door shut and walked over to the driver side of the car. After getting in, I peeled out of the lot without saying a word to her. I stole a glance over at her and saw her rubbing her leg, satisfied I reached over and grabbed the same spot as before, my grip tightening every so often.

Her eyes closed and her face scrunched up in pain as her breathing grew shallow. I wanted her to know that I was in control. She went to grab at my hand but I growled causing her to retract her hand as quick as she could. It was quiet for some time because I was trying to figure out what the hell was going through her mind. We were perfectly fine on the way to the mall and even for most of the time at the dress store. I don't understand why she had to revert back to a 16 year olds mindset.

"I don't know what your problem is right now Priceless, but it better change before we have dinner with my friends because if it doesn't we're going to have an issue," I warned.

**Kendall's POV**

I don't know what I did that made him so angry. I just wanted to know what kind of friends we were going to meet. I've never really had friends of my own who weren't forced to hang out with me before and it kind of made me nervous. He just- I don't know.

I didn't mean to be asking so many questions. I thought we were supposed to get to know each other, but apparently my father was right. I'm meant to look at not to hear.

He was squeezing my leg so tight and I was sure that I'd have a bruise the size of Texas by the time we were home.

"I don't know what your problem is right now Priceless, but it better change before we have dinner with my friends because if it doesn't we're going to have an issue," he said as his grip got tighter.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. He scoffed but let go of my leg.

I didn't know how he could be the same person who I'd ridden with hours earlier. He'd been a lot nicer to me. I wasn't sure why I turned my cheek when he tried to kiss me, but that just made him even madder. I mean, I didn't not want to kiss him.

"You need to stop taking things so personally," he grunted after another long pause, "If I say something you don't like, you need to brush it off."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't insult my intelligence. Just because I have blonde hair doesn't mean I'm stupid," I muttered, not realizing how loud I'd said it until John wrapped one of his meaty hands around my arm.

"What was that?" he growled again, "You apparently don't understand the concept of no backtalk. You're lucky that we have plans right when we get home. I don't know exactly what you were allowed to do when you were living with your parents, but here with me talking back is not allowed. I don't appreciate your snarky, sarcastic comments thrown at me all the time."

"Why are you so angry with me?" I asked, "I'm sorry that I ask so many questions, I thought that we were supposed to be getting to know each other. I don't want you to be mad."

"I'm angry because every time I tried to talk to Sam you'd interrupt me. I think I lost count after the 8th time," he shouted.

"I don't like it when you call me Priceless," I admitted.

"I don't remember asking if you liked it. I explained to you that I didn't mean it the way you took it and I even apologized for it. Being priceless is a good thing," he shouted again.

"Why did you pick me? I mean, what made you choose to take me from them as their punishment for messing up whatever the messed up? It's not like I'm any kind of important factor. You should have just demanded money or territory, it would have been a lot easier on you," I told him, "In my family, being priceless means you aren't worth anything, and it means you're nothing."

"Kendall, money and territory mean nothing. I have money I don't need anymore. Territory is just land, what the hell am I going to do with land in the fucking middle of Mississippi? Money and territory can't make me happy," he said, his voice seemed to be calming down.

"I don't understand that. For my father and my brothers, money and land, it's all they care about. That's all I've ever known," I said quietly.

"I'm not your father or your brothers. I have money, I have land, and I don't need anymore. What I do need is a beautiful women standing by my side. What I need is someone to share my money with. I need someone to share my life with," he said softly.

"So you force me to share your life with you?" I blurted out without thinking.

He glared over at me as he speed up and got off the highway at the next exit. He pulled into an empty parking lot and slammed on the brakes before putting it in park.

"John? What are you-"

"Shut the fuck up, you stuck up little bitch," he shouted as he turned to look at me. I jumped at his words and tried to not let them affect me. I immediately regretted saying anything in the first place. I should have just kept quiet, no questions and no backtalk. I knew better than this, what did I think that just because my father and brothers weren't around I could do whatever I wanted?

He grabbed onto my chin and made me to look into his eyes before he said, "I'm not forcing you to do a god damn thing. I gave you the option last night to go back to your fucking family. I told you that it was your choice. You chose to stay here and marry me. Now, I've been trying really damn hard to keep my anger under control for the time being but your attitude since we left the dress store is starting to piss me off. If you want to see me force you to do something, then by all means keep pushing me but I can guarantee you that you will regret it. Do you understand?"

I nodded but his grip tightened. The look in his eyes was freighting and I closed mine so that I didn't have to see his blue eyes turn cold.

"Open your damn eyes and tell me if you plan on staying. If you are then tell me what the fuck set you off in the dress store," he said gruffly, letting go of my chin.

"I plan on staying," I said quietly after I opened my eyes. John nodded and put the car back in gear before driving again.

"And?"

"And, I'm afraid to meet your friends," I admitted, "When you brought up meeting them, I don't know it just- scared me."

"Why are you so afraid of them? They're just people," he told me.

"Because I've never been just a person John. I've never been allowed to have my own friends. My father didn't let me get close to anyone. Well except Tasha," I said, thinking about the only person in my family's house I could actually trust, "And certain people, meaning Sam and Barbie doll, tend to spoil me when I'm around and give in to me. I'm not used to it but whenever they do I get stuck in it. I'm sorry for acting like a spoiled brat, and for what I said. I'm really not trying to push your buttons, I just don't know what to expect from you and I still don't know what you expect from me. I don't know anything about you but I've been to scared to ask. I don't want to be a bother to you and I feel like that's all I've been since I got here."

"Priceless, you're rambling," he teased.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to get used to his mood swings. I guess I'll just have to stay away the things that piss him off, which I don't even know how many things piss him off.

"Why would you be afraid to ask me anything?" he asked his voice serious.

"I heard you, when I was in the dressing room. You don't like that I ask so many questions," I told him.

"That's not what I said. I asked why you had to question things. I mean why you have to question what we're doing or why we are doing something. Last night you questioned me about having brothers and today you're questioning me about my friends. I don't mind when you ask me questions," he explained.

"Oh," was all I could say. I felt so stupid all of a sudden, "Then this whole argument was a waste of time. I'm sorry I'm such an idiot."

He chuckled slightly, "Okay, let's play 20 questions until we get back to the house. Then we'll change clothes quickly and head out."

"What is 20 questions?' I asked slowly, realizing how stupid I sounded.

"It's a game that people use to get to know another. You trade on and off asking questions. I ask you a question and then you ask me one. You can't use my question as your own, you have to come up with your own question and no repeats," he explained, "I'll go first. What was your favorite thing to do growing up?"

"Probably going to school. I went to a boarding school until I got to high school. Things didn't get too bad until I lived at home full time and went to a public high school. Going to school was the only way to escape my family for a few hours a day," I answered, "What kind of things are you looking for in a wife?"

"Why is this so important to you? Why are my needs so much more important than anything else?" he asked me.

"That's not fair. You didn't answer my question," I pouted playfully.

"Oh, right. Well, a marriage is a partnership. I want a wife who knows her place but stands her ground at the same time. I want someone who can cook for me, but not be my maid. I want someone who puts my needs before her own because that's what I intend to do for her," he sent a small smile my way and I smiled back, "Now, why is it so important to you?"

"It's like you said, you want someone who puts your needs before their own. That's how I was raised, as your future wife, it's my duty to make sure that you are happy but if I don't know what things make you happiest then I can't do my job right," I answered, "And I love to cook, but I don't know if I'm very good, you'll have to ask Barbie doll."

"You haven't eaten your own cooking before?" he asked.

"Nope. Usually when I cook it's for dinner meetings. Our cook, Carlos, would always get super stressed because there would be so many people that he'd have to make dinner for, so we'd split it in half. Whenever Barbie doll came over, I made sure to serve him the half that I made," I explained with a grin.

"Hold on, you had to serve the dinners too? Were you ever allowed to sit in on the meetings?"

"Yeah, a lot of the maids were too afraid to serve dinner meetings. The men knew they couldn't touch me so I would help the ones who weren't bothered by the attention our guests gave them. I was only allowed to one meeting. It was when I first graduated from college, he wanted everyone to know that I was going to be looking over some of the books, but he announced that at the very beginning of the meeting and kicked me out five minutes later," I told John.

"What did you go to school for?'

"I have two Bachelor Degrees, one in Business Management and one in Accounting. My father had me checking some numbers in certain areas so that he didn't have to pay someone else to do it, but he always told me that being who I am I wasn't good enough to be fully divulged in our financial statements," I said before realizing, "You're cheating! I've only asked you one question."

"Sorry, what is your next question?" he

"Um, what are some of your favorites? Foods, colors, sports, teams, movies, books, music," I responded.

"Favorite food is pancakes or waffles. Really any breakfast foods. I don't really have one favorite color. Favorite sport would be football and sports team would be the Red Sox, obviously. Favorite movie, I don't even know there are so many. I like rap music and some rock," he answered, "What about you?"

"My favorite food is probably any kind of Mexican dish. I love tacos and burritos and quesadillas and sour cream-"

"Sour cream?" he interrupted.

"I like sour cream on it. It's yummy," I explained, "My favorite color is orange. Literally, anything orange I will probably want to buy. I really like to watch football but I love swimming myself. My favorite team is probably the Packers-"

"Green Bay Packers? Really?" he interrupted again.

I giggled slightly, "Yeah, I don't know. My favorite movie, um that's a hard one because I like so many of them. Right now, probably 'What Happens in Vegas', it's such a funny movie. I don't know if I have a favorite book, but I love, love, love to read. I begged father to build a library back home once but he locked me in my room for almost 2 days and told me to stop begging because it-"

"Two days? Did you get to eat or drink anything?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes two days. And yeah, I bought a mini fridge and hid it in my closet years ago. Whenever Carlos would go grocery shopping he'd make sure to buy a little extra for me just in case I needed it," I told him.

"Isn't that a little extreme though? You just asked a simple question, it's not like he gave you anything else that you wanted," he scoffed.

"Father always told me that it wasn't polite to ask for things from other people," I said with a shrug.

"But you're his daughter-"

"I maybe his daughter genetically but in his heart I was nothing to him. I wasted his money and took up space. Nothing I did was ever good enough and I only got his attention when I'd do something my brothers didn't like. If my brothers wanted me to get in trouble, they'd go to Father and tell him I'd done something bad, even when I didn't," I explained as John pulled up in front of the gate of his- I mean our house.

He sighed and out of the corner of my eye I saw him shake his head slightly. I couldn't tell what he was thinking but I knew that he was upset so I decided to change the subject, "What do you do? I mean, as a job?"

He looked at me funny before getting out of his car and walking inside. I was so confused before I realized what I had just asked. I knew better than that. I don't understand why I kept doing things that I knew I would have gotten either hit or locked in my room for if I were still living with my parents. I looked down at my hands feeling ashamed that I wasn't giving him a good impression of who I was. I slowly got out of the car and followed him inside.

As soon as I shut the door behind me I was being pushed up against it and I felt the same jolt of electricity shoot through my body as I felt the first time he pushed me against the wall. I was scared but at the same time I was feeling things I hadn't felt before. The warmth of his body so close to mine was overwhelming and I was suddenly aware of even the tiniest senses around me, as long as it involved John.

His icy blue eyes were flashing between anger and something that might have been desire. His hands roamed up and down my sides from mid-thigh to rib cage, every time he reached my chest his thumbs would tease the underside of my breasts. His wide shoulders and chest rising with each breath he took and his thick legs were pressed against my smaller ones, holding me against the door.

I tried to control my shaky breath and he smirked, taking it as fear. Fear was about the last thing I was feeling, I wanted nothing more than for him to keep touching me. It was something I wasn't used to, the way he was touching me was actually making me want him. I'd only ever wanted one person the way I wanted him in this exact moment and the thought of that actually brought on the fear.

I closed my eyes trying to block out the memory of my brothers hitting me and throwing me into the glass door. I tried to block out the sound of the glass shattering around me as I flew through it and onto the glass covered balcony floor. I wanted to forget the pain I'd felt shoot through my body as the sharp edges cut into my skin and when Brett snapped my shoulder back, the sound of my bone cracking. My eyes being closed only made it worse. It made me afraid of the consequences I might face if John and I do anything like that before we are married.

"John, please let go," I whispered my voice shaking, "I'm sorry about what I asked you. I didn't even realize what I'd said until after I'd said it. I told you I shouldn't ask questions, I always ask the wrong thing and then I get myself into trouble."

"Shut up," he growled. I opened my eyes to see that every inch of anger I'd seen in his eyes was gone, replaced with a mixture of insane lust and desire. I could barely stop a gasp that threatened to burst through my lips when his head leaned down, his lips connecting with my bare shoulder. I tried to keep in the shudder of pleasure I felt but it was impossible. I felt John smirk against my skin and it took everything in me to keep in the moan that was boiling up in my throat.

"How many guys have you had sex with," he whispered in my ear, his voice husky, his breath sending chills down my spine.

"Two."

"Randy was your first?' he asked as his hands went under the hem of my shirt, gathering material at his wrists as they travelled higher up my stomach.

I could barely nod, not trusting my voice.

"Priceless, I asked a question. I want you to answer it," John complained, nipping at my neck.

"Randy, first, yes," I breathed, this is getting bad I thought I couldn't even put together coherent sentences. When he bit down harder on my neck, I reacted instantly. My hands snuck around his waist to his back, in a vain effort I tried to pull him closer to my body, I needed him closer to my body.

"Who was the other?" I could do nothing but shake my head. John didn't like my answer, "Priceless," he groaned, "who was the other?"

"Not important. Someone I met in college. Never going to see him again," I finally answered.

I had decided I'd had enough of his questioning and teasing. I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes. He looked at me, not hiding the confusion in his eyes. I did something I'd wanted to do since Barbie doll and Sam caught us in the parking lot.

I kissed him, as hard as I could muster. When I pulled away, I looked up in his eyes for some kind of answer. He smirked down at me before capturing my lips in his. My lips parted against his after he slid his tongue across my bottom lip. Just as he dipped his tongue deeper into my mouth there was a knock on the door I was pinned against.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all of the feedback! I'm glad you love reading this story as much as I love writing it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Evan's POV<br>**

I was stood outside Cena's house impatiently with a few of our friends. We were supposed to meet up with him for a late lunch an hour ago. I wasn't worried I was just annoyed. I was supposed to work today but he insisted that I take the day off because he had something important to tell all of us. I banged on the door again, getting frustrated.

The door suddenly swung open to show John standing there looking somewhat disheveled, "What are you guys doing here? We are supposed to be meeting in an hour," he huffed.

"No, we were supposed to meet for lunch an hour ago," Hunter corrected, "Are you going to stand there all day or are we going to come inside because I'm really looking for a beer."

"Shit, yeah come on in. I've been super busy today, spent the morning in the city with Randy, Sam, and my fiancé. The two of us have only just gotten back," John explained as he moved out of our way.

We walked into the living room and I plopped down on the couch. I'd always been taken back by the immensity of John's house. His living room was probably bigger than my apartment. But then again, he was a Cena where I was just a worker.

"Hold on, did you say fiancé?" Eve asked, she wasn't part of the 'group' so to speak. She was on the outside and we liked to keep it that way. Eve was one of those girls who gossiped about damn near everything. "I didn't know you were seeing someone."

I had to hide a laugh. Eve made so many advances at John it was almost a joke. He turned her down each time and she would get pissed when he'd pick up some random whore at a club.

"Yeah, John. When are we going to meet her?" Hunter asked. None of us knew all of the details, but we knew that one of our connections fucked up one too many times. It wasn't the first time someone fucked up, with us allowing gun shipments from states all across the US it was possible that things would get thrown off in the mail. However, this time it was done on purpose to fuck with our minds. The only ones who knew exactly who the family was were the Cena's.

"Hey, Priceless," John called up the stairs, "Forget about changing, I got the time wrong. Come on downstairs, there are some people I want to introduce you too."

"Alright, I'll be right there," a voice called from the floor above us.

"What's she like?" Kelly asked, "She cute? Brunette? Long or short hair?"

"Kelly, chill. She'll be done in a minute and you'll be able to see for yourself," John said before smirking and adding, "Great kisser though."

Hunter and I laughed, but my laugh caught in my throat when I saw the girl walking down the steps. Then I smirked when I realized who she was.

Kendall Grace DiBiase. I never thought I'd see her again but this was just perfect. She looked around the room with a smile on her face, stopping when she looked at me. Her eyes grew wide in realization, fear and a fleck of hurt flashing through them. As always, she composed herself within seconds.

"Guys, I want you to meet Kendall DiBiase. Ken, these are my friends, Hunter Helmsley, Eve Torres, Evan Bourne and his wife Kelly Bourne," John explained, pointing us out as he said our name, again hurt made its way through her grey eyes but I was the only one to see it.

Kenny smiled politely, "It's nice to meet you all."

"It's nice to meet you as well," Hunter said, "John is a lucky one to catch someone as beautiful as you."

She blushed at his comment and stepped closer to John. Even now, six years later, she is still just as shy as she used to be. I smiled at the memory of when we first met.

_Six years ago_

"_Alright, I'm the tour guide for the orange group. My name is Evan Bourne," I called out against the crowd of freshman, "I'm a marketing major. Almost done with all of my schooling. Now, before we get moving, everyone needs to introduce themselves. It's always good to find a friend early on, you don't want to go through your college years without friends."_

_I turned to a girl on my right. Her long blonde hair pulled up into a pony tail, hitting the back of her neck. She wore a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt, with black flip flops. Unlike the rest of the people in the group, she was alone. The others had parents and siblings with them._

"_Well, my name is Kendall DiBiase. I'm from Mississippi, um, I have three brothers. I'm a twin. I don't really I don't really know what else to say," she said quickly._

"_Well, what are you hoping to study? And what made you come to Tennessee?" I asked her._

"_I would like to study history. I really like learning about other people and the way they lived, that sort of thing," she explained, "And, I don't know I guess I just wanted to get away from Mississippi. I've lived in a small town my whole life, so getting out was always something I dreamt about."_

I guess she really did get out. I smirked at that thought, but at the same time it made me mad that I hadn't gotten to her sooner. I wasn't jealous, I just want someone as submissive as Kendall is. Sadly, Kelly likes to put up a fight and she has way too many blonde moments.

"Where are you from, Kendall?" Eve asked. She had a stuck up tone in her voice and I knew she disapproved. She wouldn't like anyone that John chose unless it was her.

"Born and raised in Mississippi," Kendall replied with a smile. I could tell that she was trying to put on a face for John's friends, she wanted them to think she loved it in Mississippi with her family, I however knew differently. "John, can I borrow you for just a quick second?" she asked, trying to pull on his arm.

"In a little bit, Priceless," John muttered before looking around to us, "Well, since we missed lunch, how about we order something in? What sounds good to you guys?"

"Um, I think I'm craving Mexican foods," I said with a smirk towards Kendall, "Something with a lot of sour cream on it."

"That sounds really good," Hunter added.

"Well, I'm in and I know Priceless is in. Mexican is her favorite," John told us, hugging Kendall closer to him.

"Mmmm, yeah. Sounds good," she said with a nervous laugh, "I'm going to go get something to drink. Do you guys want anything?"

"I'll go with you. Help you carry the drinks," I offered.

John smiled, oblivious to Kendall's level of discomfort. He gave her a gentle push towards the kitchen and I followed close behind her. As soon as the door shut behind me, I pulled her close to me so that her back was against my chest, she tensed instantly.

"Well hello there sharpie," I whispered in her ear. She shivered against me as she tried to pull away.

"Don't call me that," she ordered angrily.

"Oh, come on sharpie. I would have thought you'd be happy to see me. I mean, it's been six years since we've seen each other. Have you missed me as much as I've missed you?" I asked, not releasing my hold on her.

"Evan let me go," she growled, fighting to get out of my arms.

"Does he know what your family does? Does he know what you are?" I asked her, playing dumb and tightening my grip.

"I don't know. Evan, please let go. You're hurting me," she pleaded.

I sighed and released her, when she walked away I pushed her causing her to trip and fall, hitting her head on the corner of the counter that covered the island in the middle of the kitchen. Kendall yelped loudly as she landed on the floor, her hands holding her head. I rushed to her side just as John and the others entered the kitchen.

"What happened?" John asked, worry lacing his voice. It took me by surprise, he actually sounded like he was genuinely worried about her.

"I don't know. She just slipped and hit her head on the counter. I wasn't paying attention to her feet," I answered, looking Kenny in the eye silently daring her to tell him what really happened.

"John, remember that conversation we had earlier? The one before you answered the door?" she asked but he gave her a confused look as if he didn't, "I know you were a bit preoccupied but remember when I said 'Not important. Someone I met in college. Never going to see him again'?" he nodded and I knew where she was going with this, "Well, I saw him again."

"Priceless, did that hit to your head make you see stars? Because you aren't making any sense right now," John told her.

She looked around the kitchen before looking at her feet, "Never mind," she whispered to him, "I'm going to go upstairs and put a band aid on my head. I'm sorry."

She stood up slowly, with a hand on her head still. She wobbled slightly but managed to catch her balance before she tumbled over. A part of me felt bad for pushing her but I also enjoyed seeing her grovel. When we used to hang out at school, I would do things that I knew would make her nervous or feel bad just so she would try to make it up to me.

"I'll be up in a minute to help you. I'm going to call in our order to the Mexican place just down the road first," John said, ushering her towards the kitchen stairs.

**Kendall's POV**

It took every muscle in my body to keep from crying in front of John's friends. I wouldn't let myself give Evan the satisfaction of knowing how much he had truly upset me. My head was hurting and so was my confidence, I made a complete and utter fool of myself with John's friends and I just knew he'd be upset.

I wanted to tell John about Evan but I couldn't bring myself to say anything more with everyone surrounding us. And I guess Evan's little threat didn't help matters any. I know that when Evan makes a threat, he follows through with it. I've been on the receiving end of his threats quite a few times, more times than I cared to admit.

As I entered the bathroom that connected to John's master bedroom, I felt myself breaking down. I knew that if I tried to hold myself together now then I risked falling apart in front of everyone when I got back downstairs. The first tear rolled down my cheek and I dropped to the floor, curling up into a ball. Being as quiet as I possibly could, I let the tears fall from my eyes. All the while criticizing myself on how weak I was being.

I didn't realize how long I'd been laying on the floor until I felt someone crouch in front of me. I didn't have to look up to see who it was. I could feel him. John sat on the floor and pulled me into his lap. An odd sensation took over my body and it took me a minute to realize what I was feeling as I relaxed, laying my head against his chest. It was safe here, in his arms. He was showing me that I could trust him, and I knew then that I had to tell him.

"I was a freshman, just barely starting college. He was a senior and the tour guide for my group at orientation. I was the only person in my group who didn't have their parents helping them move in, but after he showed us around he offered to help me carry my things from my truck to my dorm. It was exciting for me because he was being a friend that I'd never had before.

"As that first semester progressed, we grew closer. He would help me with projects I'd have to do for my history classes and in return I'd bake him pies or cakes or brownies, whatever he was craving that week."

I smiled at the good memories I held in for all these years. It was the first time I talked in much detail about the years I spent in Tennessee. I was surprised that John hadn't interrupted me, but I think he realized that I needed to get all of it out without his input.

"I was so caught up in thinking that I'd finally gained a friend that when he asked me to be his girlfriend, I didn't know what to do. I said yes and it wasn't too much later that I was staying at his apartment all the time. At first I was afraid to have sex with him because of what my brothers did when I was with Randy, but I ended up giving in to him. We stayed together until he graduated, even though I knew he was sleeping around on me.

"The night before we moved home for the summer, he promised to visit me in Mississippi. He was originally from Missouri and he had been offered a really good position back in his home town," I chuckled slightly, "It was working for the Orton's; his family had been working for the Orton's for as long as he could remember. It made me think that we could actually have a future together. I figured that since he was in the same business that my family was in my father would let me marry him, but I was too young and stupid to realize that I didn't mean anything to him. I was just someone to pass the time with.

"He never visited. He never called. He never answered any of my phone calls. The next three years of college, I kept to myself and didn't make any friends and I didn't leave my dorm unless I had class. I couldn't risk being taken advantage of again."

I stopped talking, I could feel the emotion building up in my throat. John started rubbing slow circles on my back and immediately I calmed down. I cuddled closer into his warm body thoroughly enjoying how safe he made me feel.

"Why are you telling me this now, Priceless? I mean, you mentioned something about it when we were downstairs but I didn't understand why you were bringing it up," he commented softly.

"He's downstairs. He's your friend," I said quietly, "I didn't fall into the counter. Evan pushed me because I wouldn't talk to him."

"You're only confusing me more, babe. Why would Evan be upset that you wouldn't talk to him?" he asked slowly then gasped, "Where did you go to college?"

"UTC, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga," I answered.

That seemed to make him understand the connection. He growled low in his chest before standing up with me in his arms. Setting me down on the bathroom counter, John opened a cupboard and pulled out what looked like a box of band aids and a bottle of peroxide. He poured the peroxide on a cotton ball before dabbing at the cut on my head. I hissed slightly in pain as John carefully cleaned the blood off then blew on it in order to dry it to make the band aid stick properly.

"You were trying to tell me earlier, in the kitchen weren't you? And again when you first came downstairs" he asked gravelly.

I nodded in agreement, "But I didn't want you to get angry with me in front of your friends. I just wanted to make a good first impression but they probably all think I'm some clumsy idiot. I'm sorry John, I'm so stupid."

"You need to stop putting yourself down all the time. I wouldn't have gotten angry for you telling me that you know Evan," he said.

"You might not have, but he would have," I replied quietly, hoping down from the counter.

**John's POV**

I didn't know what to say to her. She looked so helpless and sad. I realized that I need to start listening to her more. She was trying to tell me and I shrugged her off.

"You don't have to go back down there," I told her. She must've not expected that because she turned towards me just before she reached the door. "I'll tell them that since you hit your head pretty hard, you weren't feeling very well. I can bring up your dinner for you when it comes. If you want to stay up here, away from him, that's fine."

I figured she must be embarrassed and wouldn't want to face them right now. I was sure she didn't want to have to face Evan, now or ever again. I was also sure that Kelly didn't know a thing about her, or she surely would have spoken up.

"No, really. I'm okay. I don't want them to think I'm a complete idiot. I'll go down there and play nice, I don't want to make a worse impression than I already have," she told me.

"Priceless, they won't think any less of you if you stay here. I think they all like you, well except Eve, but don't worry about her," I said, "Stay here and rest. We can always see them again later."

She looked down the floor and when she looked back up I could see the hurt in her eyes, "You don't want me down there. I've embarrassed you, haven't I? I knew it, I'm sorry John. I didn't mean to screw up again. I'll try harder I promise, please don't make me stay here. At least not alone. I just, I'm so stupid-"

"Hey, stop it. It's not at all that I don't want you down there. I do, I really do want you to be with me. I just didn't think you'd want to because I knew you'd feel embarrassed and I knew you wouldn't want to face Evan right now. I was just trying to look out for you, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," I assured her.

"Are you sure? You aren't embarrassed by me?" she asked.

"Babe, I don't think I could ever be embarrassed by you. You're too beautiful."

She blushed, but sent me a wide smile. I knew then that praises weren't something she was used to, but I made a silent promise that I'd make sure she received praise when it was deserved. Walking towards her and pulling her into my arms she relaxed under my hold, nuzzling her face into my shirt covered chest. She was trusting me, putting her life in my hands, and I knew that I wouldn't always be the perfect husband for her but I would try my best to not completely crush her like the other guys in her life.

"Let's go downstairs before the food arrives and Hunter eats it all," I joked, earning a chuckle from the gorgeous women in my arms. She grabbed my hand and led me downstairs, a smile on her face the whole way.

"Is your head feeling better?" Kelly asked as soon as we reached them in the kitchen.

"Yes, thank you for asking," Priceless answered with a smile, "I'm afraid I'm a terrible klutz, that definitely isn't the first time I've hit my head on something."

"Well, I'm glad you're alright. We weren't sure if you'd feel up to coming back down. With the way you hit your head, I was sure you'd want to rest," Hunter told her.

Again, Priceless flashed him her thousand watt smile, "John tried to talk me into staying up there. But I told him that since he invited you over to meet me that I shouldn't waste your time. He seemed to agree."

The doorbell rang followed by a few knocks on the door. I left them in the kitchen to retrieve the food and when I returned, my friends were interrogating my fiancé.

"Where did you go to college?" Eve asked, in her snotty tone. I held my breath slightly, waiting for Priceless to answer.

"UTC, the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga," she told everyone proudly, you wouldn't have seen her falter unless you were looking for it.

"Really? When? I'm just wondering because that's where Evan graduated from," Kelly added.

"Oh, really? I graduated two years ago. I have two Bachelor degrees in Business Management and Accounting. It really helped my father out, he didn't have to hire someone to look over his books and things like that," Priceless explained.

"Accounting? What happened to your history major?"

Kendall looked at me like she didn't know what to say. Neither of us had expected Evan to say anything about knowing her. I wasn't sure what to say either, thankfully we didn't have to as Kelly turned to her husband.

"How do you know she had a history major, Evan?" she asked.

Evan smirked at Kendall, "She has three brothers, one of them is her twin. Her dad hates her, but she'll do anything to make him happy. She loves to bake and makes one hell of a red velvet cake. Her brothers like to beat on her when they get pissed. Her favorite food is Mexican, with a lot of sour cream. When she turned 16 her mom bought her a truck, and had it upgraded every single year, so she basically got a brand new truck for her birthday every year. And like John said earlier, she's a damn good kisser."

"My truck's gone," Priceless said quietly. When I looked at her, she hand her elbows propped up on the counter, holding her head in her hands. "Brett let one of the boys use it and he crashed it. That was about a week ago. Mother said she wouldn't get me a new one. Now I realize that it was because I was coming here."

After she said that she practically ran upstairs.

"Evan, I think you need to leave," I said, growing angry.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Kelly asked.

"When Kendall was a freshman in college, Evan was a senior," I started, Evan stared at me obviously not expecting me to know anything. "Long story short, he dated Kendall, used her for sex, cheated on her who knows how many times, told her he'd go see her when they went back home. Then, he never called, never visited, and never answered her phone calls. And don't tell me you didn't know where she lived because the Orton's are good friends with the DiBiase's."

"Hey, don't be getting mad at me because you're fiancé is a whore," Evan said with a shrug, "You'll get bored with her anyway, just like I did."

I was seeing red by now. How dare he come into my house and basically insult me? It was obviously his own fault if he got bored with her. You need to teach the impressionable ones how to screw the right way. I wont get bored, I know how to mold her to be just what I want. Eventually, she'll be able to surprise me.

"Evan Matthew Bourne," Kelly chastised, "I think it's about time for us to go." With that, she pushed Evan out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

"Kell, don't forget your food. I'm sorry about messing up the time for lunch," I told her as she came close to hug me.

"Oh, hush. You were busy it's understandable," she said before whispering in my ear, "Don't let her go. She seems like a good match for you."

I smiled as I released her from the hug. Kelly was right, Priceless was a good match for me, even though she did have her moments.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for your reviews. They seriously give me motivation to write more!  
>Just a warning, you wont like John... sorry. Kind of. No, not really. [:<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Kendall's POV<br>**

I didn't go all the way upstairs, I sat just out of sight listening in to them talk about me. Everything Evan said was true. He got bored with me and so will John. John didn't even deny that fact; it was only a matter of time before he'd be sending me back to Mississippi. And then it'll be hell all over again. Maybe I'll just run away when it happens. I'll go to Barbie doll's for a while, hid out there until I can disappear for good. No one will miss me anyway.

I thought that things between John and I might actually be good, especially after the whole door incident, but now I realize that I'm just a toy to him. I was just a toy to Randy, I was just a toy to Evan, and now I'll be just a toy to John. A toy they all got bored with, a toy they never cared about to begin with. They only cared enough to get what they wanted and then I was gone. It's no different this time.

"John, what the hell is going on?" I heard Hunter ask.

"Honestly I have no fucking clue. I went upstairs and Priceless looked like she was fucking dying, she was crying so hard." Wow, thank you for telling them I cried, jerk. "When I finally got her calmed down she started talking about some kid she meet when she was in college. I asked her why she was bringing him up now and she told me that he was my friend. Then she said that Evan pushed her, she didn't just fall over because she's a complete klutz. He fucking pushed her into the counter."

"Why didn't she tell us when we came in here?"

"She's scared," this was Eve talking.

It shocked me, to be perfectly honest. She actually sounded sincere; the snotty 'I'm better than you' tone was gone from her voice. I don't know what changed, or if it was the simple fact that she didn't know I was listening, or if she was just putting on a good face for John. But whatever it was, it shocked me.

"Of?" Hunter prompted.

"Well it's obvious. When we walked in here, after he pushed her, she had a petrified look on her face. If anything, he threatened her not to say anything to John. And on top of that, didn't you hear what Evan said about her brothers? They beat on her whenever they felt like it, for the fun of it. That's not something you forget about just because you took her out of her house," Eve explained.

"What do you mean 'took her out of her house?'" John asked.

"Oh, come on Cena. I'm not as stupid as you all think. I know more than you think I know and it's obvious, to me at least, that this isn't what you'd call a 'normal' engagement. It's a set up. I know you're all in some kind of illegal business," she told him.

There was silence in the kitchen for a minute; I'm guessing that John and Hunter were taking this information in. I didn't need to process it; I didn't care who knew and who didn't know. I just wanted out, and there was really only one way out. Death.

"You're not going to tell anyone about this are you?" John asked, "Because if you do, there will be severe consequences."

I wondered when the threats would start. I heard them all the time back home. Everyone was threatened in the house; anyone who worked for us was threatened on almost a daily basis. Me, well I was threatened on an hourly basis.

"Again, I'm not as stupid as you think," Eve said and I could just imagine her rolling her eyes. I wanted to hope that she and I could become friends, but I knew that was nearly impossible. I'd never have friends, and anyway John had said she would never like me.

I watched as Hunter walked to the fridge that was positioned right across from the stairway, freezing as he turned around and looked directly at me. Just when I thought he was going to tell on me for eavesdropping, he sent a wink my way.

"John, do you mind if I bring Kendall's food up to her?" he asked, "She is probably starving right now."

I nodded seeing as he hadn't taken his eyes off me and thankfully John agreed.

"Yeah, I got her the tacos and the quesadillas. She said they were her favorite earlier," John replied, just as Hunter was walking up the stairs he added, "Don't forget sour cream. She loves sour cream."

I smiled because he remembered, not that I expected him to forget or anything. I just didn't expect him to actually be listening to me.

Hunter walked up towards me then motioned for me to follow him to the game room on the third floor. I hate the third floor. As I walked behind him, I started to grow weary of him. What if he punished me for eavesdropping? What if he punished me for embarrassing John? Was he going to even let me eat? I didn't want to think about what he was planning on doing, but I couldn't stop my imagination, if you will, from getting the best of me.

He sat the food down on the table and motioned for me to eat. I looked at him for a minute before complying. I figured it would be easier to just do what he says than give him a reason to be angry with me.

"How's the head?" he asked, suddenly breaking the silence that had fallen between us.

"It's okay," I said quietly, "It's really not the first time I've fallen and hit my head."

"I don't mind you listening in on our conversation, but I'd really appreciate it if you didn't pretend like you heard nothing," he said sharply, "You know that I know you didn't fall, I didn't think you fell in the first place."

"I'm sorry."

"I saw the look on your face when you first came downstairs, when you first saw him there. You recognized him immediately, although you were quick to hide it from everyone. I also saw the look on your face when John introduced Kelly. And again when he offered to help you with the drinks. But what I would like to know is how you can totally wipe any emotion off your face in a split second?" he asked softly, "It's like one minute it's there and the next it's not. How do you do it?'

"Years of practice. You know my father, yeah?" I asked and he nodded, "Then you've heard he doesn't like me. The very, very little time he spent with me when I was younger was only to train me."

"You're trusting me."

It was more of a statement than a question. I shrugged; I didn't know why I was talking to him.

"You feel you are under obligation to please me. Because you're afraid that if you anger me I'll tell John, and you're afraid that will anger John. You don't want John angry with you because you aren't exactly positive of the consequences."

This guy is good. "What are you some kind of shrink?" It was out of my mouth before I could stop it. I hoped it didn't sound rude. My eyes grew wide as I waited for his response. He stared at me, blank expression settled deep on his face.

Until he smirked, "You've got a sense of humor."

I sighed in relief. He must have noticed that I was nervous because he sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. Little did he know that this made me more uncomfortable than before and I tensed under his weight.

"I won't hurt you. It's not my job, I'll let John do that," Hunter said with a laugh, "I'm here to be a friend. If you need someone to talk to, who will actually listen, I'm here."

I looked at him. My mouth wide open. No one has ever, and I do mean ever, offered to be my friend. Much less offered to listen to my problems. I was going to answer, thank him, or ask him what it meant to be friends when my phone rang.

**Hunter's POV**

Kendall groaned as she looked at the caller id of her cell phone, "I'm sorry, Hunter. I really should take this."

I nodded and she stood up to answer.

"Teddy?" she answered. Her face went from annoyed to wide-eyed in less than a second, "No, I didn't, I swear-"

I sat there, listening to the one sided conversation.

"I promise, I didn't tell them anything. I only said-"

Whoever it was was obviously upset with her.

"I just, Teddy I'm sorry."

She flinched and I heard him yell, _"What did you say!"_

"I told him that you all were going to keep messing up their orders, just so they would hurt me."

She looked down sadly, reflecting the tone of her voice.

"No! Teddy please don't. You don't even know where I-"

He cut her off again. I was getting pretty sick of, whichever brother of hers this was, interrupting her, not letting her finish a damn sentence.

"Why?" she all but cried, "Why would you do that? Teddy please don't."

I reached to take the phone away from her but she shook her head violently.

"Leave her home. She has nothing to do with-"

That's it. I'd heard enough. I yanked the phone from her hand and growled, "Listen to me, you worthless piece of shit. I don't care that you're her brother, I don't care that you think you are God's gift to the fucking world. If you don't have enough respect for Kendall, hell if you don't have enough respect for your fucking family that you have to treat her like shit then you can hang the phone up right now and forget about ever calling her back again. From now on, she is under strict orders to not answer a damn phone call from you selfish mother fuckers. Do you hear me?"

"_She belongs to us. She'll always belong to us. It doesn't matter what you say or what you tell her. She'll never listen to you like she listens to us,"_ the man sneered before hanging up.

"You shouldn't have done that," Kendall whispered from across the room, "He's coming here tomorrow. He says that he needs to speak to me about what I've told John about my family."

"And by 'speak to you' you mean he's not going to be talking with his mouth at all is he," I commented.

She nodded nervously. I sighed and held my head in my hands, "Shit Kendall. I wasn't thinking about that. How did he find out you said anything?"

"One of John's brothers called one of mine, or something like that. He didn't exactly give me the details. He just wanted to know why they were not only demanding me, but money as well. My father is furious as are my brothers," she confided, "I can't imagine what Teddy is going to do to me tomorrow.

"Who is he bringing with him?"

"My favorite maid. She's so young, only 17, but her mom works for my family and they need the money. She's a favorite of Brett's too, but for different reasons," she explained.

I stood up and walked to the door, trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do now. If he hurt her, it would be my fault.

"Where are you going?" she asked, fear evident in her voice.

"To talk to John."

"What? Why? Do you have to? I mean, he doesn't have to know does he?" Now the fear was evident on her face as she followed me quickly down the stairs.

"He's your fiancé, of course I need to tell him, Kendall. If someone is threatening to hurt you, he has a right to know," I told her as I rolled my eyes.

I knew why she didn't want me to tell him. She was afraid he'd blame her, that he'd say it was her fault and that she would just have to deal with the consequences.

"Please, Hunter. Don't tell him," she begged me in a whisper as we reached the kitchen.

"Don't tell who what?" John asked us.

"Nothing," Kendall said a bit too quickly.

I rolled my eyes again, "DiBiase's just called her. One of them is going to be here tomorrow to 'talk' to her."

"Why?"

"No reason." Again with the lying and the speaking too quickly.

John growled at her as he pulled her close to him, holding her hands behind her back with one hand and her cupping her chin with another. "If you don't shut the fuck up and let the man speak I'm going to fucking flip a shit and you'll be on the receiving end of the shit I flip. Got it?"

She nodded, her eyes growing as wide as saucers. I hid a laugh behind a cough at her obedience, although it really wasn't so funny. It was actually quite sad really. God, if I ever talked to Steph like that she'd backhand me faster than I could blink.

"Now, why is he coming tomorrow?" he asked, not letting go of Kendall's hands.

"Something about one of your brothers calling them and demanding money on top of keeping Kendall. Apparently she told you some stuff that ya'll didn't like and ya'll called them. I don't really know the full story but I'm sure you can connect the dots," I explained.

"Shit," John shouted, making Kendall jump, "Sorry Priceless. I thought they wouldn't call them until after the wedding, but it actually makes more sense that they'd call before the wedding because right now they can't really say no."

"Um, what the hell is going on?"

I'd forgotten that Eve was still here, she was unusually quiet this whole time.

"Kendall's family are a bunch of losers who don't know how to fucking exist without pissing everyone off for the fun of it. They pissed my family off one too many times, so we finally took action. I wanted Kendall so I took her. But we found out that, even taking her without paying like everyone else has been trying, they were still going to fuck up. We want money too. My family contacted hers and now they're pissed at her," John explained, satisfied with Eve's slight nod he turned to Kendall, "Whose coming, Priceless?"

When she answered, her voice was so quiet I barely heard her, "Teddy." I was quite beside myself by the way she didn't even fight against his grip on her wrists. He was holding her so tightly against his own body that I was sure she'd break in half from the pressure.

"John, don't you think you should, I don't know, let her go?" Eve asked angrily.

Again, I looked at Eve in surprise, as did John and Kendall. Never in my life did I think Eve Torres would stand up to John Cena, but damn here she was, all but yelling at him.

John released her and she took a big step away from him. She gently rubbed at her wrists as she created more and more space between herself and John.

"I'll take you to work with me tomorrow. I'm sure we can find something for you to do," John said as he looked at me for assurance.

"No John, I can't. I have to be here when he comes," Kendall blurted out.

"I'm not going to leave you here by yourself, Priceless. You'll come to-"

"John, he's bringing Tasha with him. If I'm not here he'll take it out on her. I can't let him hurt her because I was being stupid and told you things I knew I shouldn't have," she said quickly.

John pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "I'm not going to argue with you about this. You are coming with me. I'll have one of my brothers stay here to wait for Ted and Tasha. We'll keep Tasha with us; I'll pay money if I have to. Then they'll send Ted on his way, officially uninviting your family from our wedding."

I watched Kendall's face carefully, catching what John missed, hurt and a bit of jealousy flashed through her beautiful features. I shook my head at John's carelessness. He was marrying this woman; he was going to be stuck with her for the rest of his life. If he wanted happiness in his future he needed to pay more attention to what he says and how his words affect her. I wasn't expecting Kendall to say anything, but apparently tonight was full of surprises.

"If you're willing to pay money for Tasha then why don't you just marry her instead? Somebody might actually miss her."

John's next action however, that did not surprise me.

**John's POV**

I reached out and backhanded her. Maybe I put a little bit too much behind that slap. But the stupid bitch needs to learn to watch her mouth. I watched, unfazed, as her small body fell to the ground by the force and Eve rushed to her side. I'm sick and fucking tired of having the same damn conversation with her over and over again.

"We've had this discussion Kendall. I refuse to talk about it anymore. Do not bring it up again," I warned in a low, calm voice.

"John," Hunter growled, "That was uncalled for."

I turned and glared at him, "If you don't like it, you can leave. I'll treat my fiancé any way I damn well please. You choose to let Steph push you around; I choose to push Kendall around. Nothing you say will change it. I don't care what you think was called for or uncalled for."

"You don't have to be a dick, Cena. She's a hell of a lot smaller than you; you can't throw your weight around on her. She'll break," he told me.

"Can't you see she's already broken?" I asked.

"Guys," Eve shouted, "That's enough."

The both of us looked over at the two women still sitting on the floor in the kitchen. The anger that had been running through my veins disappeared immediately when I saw Priceless looking at me, her eyes not betraying any emotion she might be feeling. She looked empty again, not like the same girl who was trying on wedding dresses for me. And definitely not the girl I had pinned against my front door. This was the girl who I told was being forced to marry me, the girl who laid in a bed for two hours with a snake slithering all over her.

Part of me didn't want to care; she'd been thoroughly warned not to act up. She'd been punished for talking back once already. Granted the last two times she talked back, I let it go, only because we had plans. By now, I was just sick of her arguing.

"Priceless, go upstairs and get cleaned up. You two," I said pointing at Hunter and Eve, "It's time you leave. We need to get up early to get ready for work. And I think Kendall and I need to talk anyway."

All three nodded, Hunter being the first to speak, "You and I are going to talk tomorrow when I get into work."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever, H."

"Kendall, I'll see you soon. We'll go shopping sometime this week," Eve said, "It'll be good to get you out of this house."

I glared at her blatant dig at me. Eve glared right back at me, yet Priceless seemed to cower underneath my hard stare. "Yeah, maybe we will," was her answer.

"It was nice to meet you Ken. Don't forget our talk earlier," Hunter said as he pulled Priceless to her feet and gave her a hug. She visibly tensed in his arms and didn't relax until he let her go.

Eve and Hunter let themselves out as Priceless and I stood in the kitchen. I was staring at her but she wouldn't look at me.

"I said go upstairs and get cleaned up," I growled.

"What room?" she asked quietly.

I fought a smile, she knew she was in trouble, "Ours."

She nodded and made her way to the stairs, making sure to keep as much distance between the two of us as she could. Just as she was about to take the first step I stopped her.

"Priceless, turn around and look at me," when she did I added, "When I get in there, I want you to be standing in the middle of the room, not facing the door. Take your clothes off, but don't even think about putting your pajamas on. We have things to talk about."

"I have to be naked for us to talk?" she questioned, barely speaking above a whisper.

I smirked slightly, "Yes."

She swallowed hard and visibly shuddered at my answer. I was imagining all of the ways I could punish her tonight as I waited just long enough for her to get herself situated in the master bedroom.

I slowly made my way up the stairs, biding my time just to see her squirm in anxiousness. For a second, I wondered when she'd have an anxiety attack. I knew one was bound to happen, especially with the wedding so close and me having to go in to work three days this week. She'd be home alone for two of those days, unless we get to keep Tasha.

I stood in the doorway of the bedroom for about a minute just staring at her. She'd done just what I asked. Her arms were wrapped around her upper body as if she were trying to keep warm. She looked down at the floor and I realized that she was trying to cover herself up.

I walked up behind her and couldn't resist spanking her, hard. She yelped at the sudden contact but didn't say a thing.

"We need to talk," I whispered in her ear and she nodded, "First things first, what did you and Hunter talk about before your brother called?"

"He said that if I needed anyone to talk to that he'd listen. He told me he was my friend," she answered.

"Well, he's not. You are not to speak to him unless I am around, understand?"


	7. Chapter 7

_Warning: Some sexual content._

* * *

><p><strong>Kendall's POV<strong>

"I asked if you understand, Kendall. You are not going to be friends with Hunter. You are only allowed to talk to him if I am right next to you," John said as he stood behind me.

My eyes stung with tears but I refused to let them fall. Was he saying that I couldn't have friends? This was the first time that anyone has actually wanted to be my friend and John was saying no.

"John…" I hate how weak I sound, how vulnerable I sound. But then I look down and realize that not only am I emotionally vulnerable, I am also physically vulnerable. I stood in the middle of John's room, the room I was to share with him, naked. He would take full advantage of it too, I knew he would.

"It's a simple yes or no answer Priceless," he told me, "Yes you understand, or no you don't. A bit of advice: you might want to understand. I'll make it worth your while."

"Johnny, I want friends. Please," I pleaded.

"So I take it you don't understand what I'm saying."

"No, I do understand. I do. But-"

"There are no 'buts', unless it's yours in my hands," he said as he grabbed me, "That, however, is a different kind of butt, now isn't it."

I stood completely still, not daring to move a muscle, as his hands assaulted my naked body. When I thought I couldn't bear this torture any longer, it got worse. His mouth joined his hands, kissing every inch he could touch as he stood behind me. There was no controlling the shiver that so violently shook my entire body as his fingers grazed the back of my thighs.

"As for your little remark about paying for Tasha and marrying her, I probably would if she were legal," he taunted as he turned me around to face him, lightly running his knuckles over the spot he hit me, "That is going to be a bruise in the morning. I am only going to say this one more time so you better listen very carefully. Money means nothing to me, land means nothing to me. I want companionship; I want a warm body to hold onto at night and to wake up to in the morning. I want someone who, despite my flaws, will give me every single piece of them no questions asked. I was told, by a good source, that you could give me what I want. In return, I am giving you everything you could ever want and more than you will ever need. All I ask of you, is to respect me and my rules. Do you think you can do that Priceless?"

I nodded, unable to put complete thoughts together. His hands were still ravaging my body, staying away from the one place that was needing the most attention. My body felt as if it were on fire at every touch. I couldn't get enough and I didn't want him to stop. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

John dropped his hands and walked around me to the giant walk in closet, leaving me in the middle of the room. He could honestly be the biggest tease I have ever met in my whole life.

"Johnny?" I called quietly.

"Don't call me that Priceless," he said back.

I bit back my smart retort about why he gets a choice in his nickname but I don't get one, replacing it with a sigh, "Johnny?" I replied.

"Yes, babe," he said as he walked back up to me. I hadn't been expecting to hear his voice so close to my ear as I jumped. "Sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Can I ask you a couple questions?" I proposed, "Perhaps without you getting too angry at me. I'm just curious."

He turned me to face him again so that I was in my original stance from when he walked in the bedroom. He seemed to be pondering my request and I was afraid that he'd say no.

"As long as they are within reason. If I don't like them, I will not answer. Is that fair?" he responded.

I nodded quickly, not willing to give him any time to change his mind, "Fair enough," I muttered, "Okay first question. Why don't you want me to be friends with Hunter?"

Instinctively, I brought my hands up in front of my face. I know he said he would only not answer if he didn't like my question, but that didn't stop me from wanting to be prepared in case I pushed too far. But Johnny just laughed.

"I don't trust him." His answer was short and sweet, but I didn't like it. It wasn't enough.

"He told you about the phone call. Even when I asked him not too," I pointed out, "How could you not trust him?"

"Listen Priceless, you don't know Hunter the way I do. I've known him for quite some time now and he's not as sweet and innocent as he wants you to believe. I'm not going to explain my reasons for not trusting him to you because it'd be a waste of my time. Respect my decision as your future husband, when I say that you are not going to talk to Hunter when I am not immediately present. Yes?"

"Okay. Next question, I know that I may sound a bit prudish when I ask this question. And it's not that I don't want to because, well I want to. I just want it to be special and not rushed and I don't think our first time should be out of punishment. And I don't want to be just a toy for you to play with and I know that I wont be up to par for you, obviously I wasn't in the past or we probably wouldn't be standing her today. I also know that you're going to have to show me how to do it the way you like and I know that there is going to be a lot of tension-"

"Are you going to get to the point of your rambling anytime soon? Or should I just go lay down and have you wake me up when you get to the question?" he interrupted.

I blushed slightly before I blurted out, ". ."

"First, I don't understand gibberish. Second, repeat that, a hell of a lot slower, please," he said, barely able to control his laughter.

Deep breath, "I want to wait to have sex until after we are married." Another deep breath, "I think it could mean more than if we did it now."

"I think that you should go put some pj's on and join me in our bed. We'll watch a movie before we go to sleep and I'll wake you up in the morning so we can go to work," Johnny accepted with a smile.

"Thank you Johnny," I cooed, reaching up and giving him a hug.

"If you don't let go right now I'll be forced to take you on the floor," he said through gritted teeth, I could tell that he was trying to keep his composure while I was holding onto him, my naked body pressed up against his gym short clad body. "Don't call me Johnny."

"As long as you call me Priceless, I'm going to call you Johnny," I argued as I walked into my closet that was next to John's and equally as large, if not bigger than his.

When I walked back into the room, John was laying in the large bed. I couldn't help but take a minute to admire him. He had muscles in places I didn't even know existed. His wide chest and shoulders could scare off a normal sized man in a heart beat, but to me he looked comforting. It was as if he was calling out to me, begging me to trust him and feel safe.

Despite his mood swings that would put a hormonal pregnant women to shame, I felt safe around him. Whenever he was in my presence I knew that no one, other than him obviously, would ever be able to hurt me. He wouldn't let them, he would protect me.

As I crawled into bed with my fiancé, I leaned down and kissed him. It wasn't hard, hot, or heavy like the ones before were, but it was passionate. He looked up at me, obviously not expecting me to show any sign of affection towards him. I ignored his questioning eyes and laid down, my head on his chest while he wrapped an arm around me stroking my hair.

"I'm sorry I hit you," he said, breaking the silence.

I shook my head, not bothering to pick my head up to look at him, "No you're not. Please don't apologize to me unless you truly mean it, Johnny."

I felt, rather than heard, him sigh, "You're right. I'm not sorry. But I am sorry that I hit you as hard as I did. I didn't realize that I was putting so much force behind it."

I simply nodded, closing my eyes as they grew heavy. Drawing lazy circles around his muscular abs, I thought about the coming week and our wedding. I wanted to believe that everything would be alright, but I knew better. I always expected the worst, I was always prepared to be let down.

"If you're wondering why Eve was so nice to you, after being rude for most of the night, I know why. She told me that if you asked, I could tell you," Johnny broke the silence again.

This time, I sat up confusion making its way to my face, "I don't understand. I thought she'd hate me. Well she did hate me, but when I wasn't there, she defended me. And again when you were mad at me. Why?" I asked.

"She's been in the situation you're in, more or less. She's originally from Chicago, but she moved her when she was 23, much like you. Her family was trying to arrange a marriage with Chicago's DiBiase, if you will. He is probably more evil than all of your brothers combined. Our 'group' is one of the largest running crime sprees in North America. The head honcho, I don't know if you've heard his name before, is Vince McMahon, he kicked the guy out and put out a hit list on anyone who did business with him. No one knows exactly what he did, but that doesn't matter now.

"Eve was the unlucky women the guy set his sights on. At first she was taken back by the way he threw his luxuries at her but as the courted, he grew more possessive and more controlling. He would make me look like a saint. He did some pretty bad things to her, until finally she'd had enough.

"She faked her own death and ran as far away as she could. She remembered overhearing Punk say something about having enemies her in Massachusetts, so this is where she ended up. When she got into contact with McMahon she begged him not to tell us anything. But tonight, she saw through you. She read you and your hidden emotions because she was you at one point."

**John's POV**

She sat there, staring at me. Times like these made me wish I knew her better, made me wish I could read her as well as Randy or even Eve. Priceless was so closed off that almost everything she did was a surprise to me.

I didn't know how she would feel about knowing Eve's background. Hell, I just found out an hour ago and I've known the bitch for three years.

Suddenly, she shook her head, "She should still hate me."

"Why should she hate you?" I was thoroughly confused.

"Because she wants you but you're with me. And because you treat me better than that guy treated her," she said matter-of-factly.

"Babe, after tonight and her seeing me hit you, she doesn't want me. Not that I've ever wanted her, anyway. Let's not talk about Eve anymore tonight," I replied just as the movie started.

Priceless sighed and laid back down, her head on my chest. I dont know why, but something with the way we were just felt right. It should have been awkward between us, we barely knew each other. And she should be deathly afraid of me after I hit her as hard as I did. Hell, I think she was more afraid of me after the snake than she was right now. But this, the things that I was feeling in this particular moment, is why I asked for her. I wanted someone, that's precisely it. I didn't want something or some money, I wanted a person.

Sure, it helped that she was outstandingly beautiful, not that she would ever believe it after everything she's been through. Yeah, it would be nice that she is as submissive as she is. But that didn't matter as much to me. I couldn't trust the whores on the outside and there was no way any respectable women would marry me when they found out about my families involvement in crime. So, really, the only way I saw it was if I married someone from the inside. I didn't want just any one. I wanted someone who wouldn't just marry me for my money. I wanted someone who could fall in love with me for me. Kendall Grace DiBiase looked to be the perfect candidate, especially after her family fucked mine over.

"I need to get you a ring," I commented.

When I didn't receive an answer, I looked down to see that she was fast asleep. I covered us both up a bit better and pulled her body closer to mine. Wrapping my arms around her, I felt the first stages of sleep take over me and I silently prayed that things would work out for us.

##

Best sleep of my life.

Those were the words that ran through my mind this morning as I woke up, Priceless still in my arms. It seemed like we hadn't even changed positions last night. I looked down and noticed the peaceful innocence on Kendall's face. In her sleep, right now at least, she didn't have to hide her emotions. She allowed herself to relax and enjoy.

She must have felt my breathing increase because hey eyes started to flutter and soon I was staring into her grey orbs. We laid there, not breaking eye contact for a few minutes before she smiled at me. Gently, she nuzzled her head into my chest as she tried to get as close to me as she possible could.

"We gotta get up babe," I said quietly then laughed when she groaned in response, "I know, I don't want to either. But I need to be able to support you and if we don't get out of my bed then I wont be able to do that."

"Five more minutes, Johnny," she muttered.

I cringed at the nickname she'd taken a liking to. I hated when people called me Johnny, even though it sounded pretty damn hot coming from her mouth. I would deal with it though, as long as I got to call her Priceless, I was fine.

"You can have until I get out of the shower," I bargained.

"But that means you have to get up too," she whined as she stretched her way up so that her head was tucked in to the crook of my neck, just under my chin.

"You could always shower with me."

Priceless scoffed and rolled away from me. However that didn't wipe the smirk off my face, "I win."

I walked to my closet and picked some clothes to work in. When I walked back into the main room, Kendall was laying on her stomach in the middle of my- I mean our- bed. Arms out to the side and legs spread apart as well. Her short pajama shorts were not covering, well anything, and gave me a pretty good view of what she had to offer. Before I could stop myself, I found my feet walking over to the bed.

As slowly as I could, making sure I didn't disturb my sleeping beauty, I crawled in between her legs and ran my hand up the inside of one of her thighs. Goosebumps covered her skin at the slightest touch.

"Johnny?" she questioned.

I simply shushed her, "Close your eyes Priceless."

She hestiantly obliged with my request and as soon as her eyes closed I slipped my hand inside the leg of her shorts. As I cupped her warmth, I heard a soft moan escape her lips and I smiled.

"Johnny, I thought you were going to take a shower," she said breathlessly.

I ignored her as I plunged a finger into her. She tried to squirm away from me, but I caught her by her hips with my free hand, holding her down to the bed. I continued to pump in and out of her slowly, just to tease her.

"I though we were going to wait un-"

I quickly added another finger and her sentence turned into a moan. Positioning my hand just right, I worked on her clit with my thumb at the same speed as my other fingers.

"Just one Priceless," I whispered.

She whimpered when I took my fingers away but stopped when I turned her around so she was laying on her back. Quickly, I pulled her shorts do to her knees and let my fingers resume their previous actions. Slow and steady, then hard and fast. She would arch her back and met my every thrust. I added a third finger when I felt her start clenching around the other two and mercilously teased her clit again.

"Just let it go," I encouraged as her legs started to shake, "Come on Priceless, say my name."

That was all it took and she came all over my hand. I waited for her to open her eyes before I pulled my fingers out of her pussy and licked her juices off of them.

"Johnny," she whispered, but I silenced her with a kiss.

"I'm going to go take a shower. If you don't want to take one with me, go use the guest shower. We'll be late if you wait until I'm done," I told her.

With that, I stood up and walked into the master bathroom as if nothing had just happened. I snuck one last look at the flustered woman in my bed and smirked. She was still trying to collect herself, and honestly, that orgasm was nothing compared to what it could have been.

Now, I would have to take the fastest and coldest shower none to mankind, but it was totally worth it. I knew she wouldn't join me, simply because if she did we would have ended up having sex and she wanted to wait. That was all fine and dandy, but that didn't mean we couldn't do a bit of foreplay. Or a lot.


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is a bit shorter than the rest, but I've had a busy day. Thank you for the unbelievable response and I hope that I keep impressing you all!**

* * *

><p><strong>Teddy's POV<strong>

"Get out Tasha!"

She fumbled with her seat belt, that I told her to not even bother putting on but she did anyway. I stormed up to the front door, dragging her behind me, my hold on her arm like a vice grip. I pounded on the door until one of them answered.

"They might be sleeping, sir," Tasha suggested. I turned my head to look at her and she immediately stopped talking.

Finally I heard someone yell, "Coming." And a few seconds later the door swung open. Kendall had a smile on her face but it quickly disappeared when she saw me.

"John!" she yelled nervously.

"Don't be rude, bitch," I sneered, "Aren't you going to invite us in?"

She smirked before looking at Tasha and saying, "Come inside Tasha, let me show you around."

I stepped closer to her and her eyes widened in fear. She knew she pissed me off, but fucking Cena appeared from out of no where and stood behind her, glaring at me.

"Kendall, why don't you show Tasha around. There is some stuff for breakfast on the island in the kitchen if you're hungry. Help yourselves," he said, never breaking eye contact with me.

Reluctantly, I released Tasha form my hold and she hurried inside the house. I rolled my eyes, it's not like I was actually hurting the stupid bitch.

"You're not welcome here," John said calmly.

"We have a problem, Cena," I told him, "See you and your family said that you would overlook errors in our shipments if we gave you the bitch. Well, ya got her and now we get a phone call demanding money as well. That isn't going to fly so well."

"We said we'd overlook them to a certain extent. As long as it was within reason, we wouldn't put a hit out on your family. Well, the certain extent expired when I heard that you were still threatening 'the bitch', who is now my bitch. I don't take too kindly to people threatening what is mine," he explained.

"John, John, John. Kendall will never be yours, she'll always be ours," I smirked.

"Here's what you're going to do. You'll get off my property in five minutes and never come back. If you do, we'll kill you. You'll leave Tasha here with Kendall and we will take back the demand for money. However, if there is one more fucked up shipment of anything, you DiBiases will pay for it. Except Kendall, because in six days she'll be a Cena," he told me calmly.

"You're joking right? I'm not going to leave my brothers favorite slut here without any kind of compensation," I shouted.

"You want compensation?" he asked and I nodded, "Fine, here's your damn compensation."

I didn't even see his fist coming towards me it happened so fast.

"Get the fuck off my property and don't ever come back. You are welcome to come to the wedding and tell your father that if he chooses to walk his only daughter down the aisle, he is more than welcome to. If you choose not to come that is your problem. Other than the wedding, I don't want to see a damn one of you in Massachusetts," with that, he slammed the door in my face.

"Fuck!" I'm going to be in trouble when I get back home.

**Kendall's POV**

"Are you okay, Tasha?" I asked for about the millionth time since Teddy let her in the house.

"Kenny, I'm fine. The real question is are you okay?" she said, eying my cheek.

I was able to cover up the hand print shaped bruise but that didn't do anything for the swelling, I should have put ice on it last night. I sighed, "I need to learn to stop talking back."

"That's not why I hit you, Priceless," John said as he entered the kitchen, "Although that statement is definitely true."

"Yes, but she didn't need to know that," I responded stubbornly, "Where is he?"

"Gone."

"Gone?" Tasha asked.

"Gone," John confirmed, "you're staying with us. I'm sure we can find you a job somewhere within the company. And until you can get on your feet, you can live here."

"What about school, sir?" she asked, "It's my senior year of high school."

"First, don't call me sir. It's John. Second, I'll call my Alma mater and get you enrolled. I'll pay for it."

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to be in the way."

John looked at me to persuade her. "Tasha," I started, "They wont use you like my brothers do. You can get a real job here. The house is plenty big enough. There are even guest rooms in the basement which is set up like an apartment, if you'd be more comfortable. I'll help you with school if you need it. I'll cook you dinner all the time. You'll-"

"Okay," she said with a smile, "If you're cooking, I'm staying."

"You've had her food before?" Johnny asked.

Tasha gave him a mischievous smile, "I've snuck her food before."

I stood up and hugged her. As I released her I turned to John, "We'll have to get her clothes and stuff, Johnny. She didn't bring anything."

He nodded, "For today and tomorrow let her borrow some of your stuff. I'll let Eve have tomorrow off and she can take you shopping. Right now, it's time for work. Do you still want to come with me? Tasha you're welcome to come as well," we both smiled and nodded, "Okay, let's go."

We walked to the garage and I heard Tasha gasp. The girl loves cars and this man is a car whore.

"Oh and Tasha, as long as you're going to be living here for a while, pick out on of my cars. It can be yours as long as you're here. Just not my Hummer, work truck, or my Mustang."

"Thank you so much, sir," she said, "I mean John."

We hopped in his work truck and headed to, well I don't know exactly what it is. It looks like an office building, but I still have no clue what they do.

"Good morning, thank you for calling Cenation Industries. How man I direct your call?" a familiar voice said as we entered the building.

Eve sat at the receptionist desk with a headset on. She held up a finger, indicating that she wanted to talk. I looked over at John but he was in a conversation with one of his brothers.

"Which Mr. Cena would you like to speak to, ma'am? He has just walked through the door. I'll transfer you to his voice mail and he'll call you back when he gets a free moment. Have a good day," she said and hung up the phone, "Good morning Kendall. How are you feeling this morning? How's the cut?"

I subconsciously brought my hand up to my face, "I'm alright. We had a good talk after you and Hunter left."

She nodded, "He told you?"

"Yes, but I think you should still hate me," I said with a shrug.

"But I wont. Trust me, I don't want to be in a relationship like that ever again," she replied, shaking her head. "If things get too bad, I'm not saying they will but just in case, come to me. I can help you."

"Thank you," I accepted, "Oh yeah, Eve this is my friend Tasha. She's going to be living with Johnny and I until she graduates and can get on her feet. She doesn't have anything with her so Johnny said you can have tomorrow off and we can go shopping. If you want..."

"I will never pass up the opportunity of having the day off just to shop. Maybe I can talk him into paying me for the day," she said with a wink.

"Don't even think about it Torres," John hollered without even looking in our direction.

"So, this is the infamous Tasha," Eve replied, "I'm Eve Torres."

"Infamous?" Tasha questioned.

"Well you are the reason Kendall is sporting a bit too much make up and a swollen cheek," Eve explained.

"Kendall? What is she talking about?"

"Oops," Eve said, "I've got to get back to work. And John is looking over here, practically eye fucking you. I think that means he's ready for you to come."

"Already did that this morning Eve, but thanks for looking out," I said with a smirk and walked over to John. Both Eve and Tasha were stunned, staring after me with their jaws practically on the floor.

"Priceless, I don't know if you remember but this is my brother Dan," John said.

"Hi Kendall, it's nice to see you again," Dan greeted with a smile, "Um, why are Eve and that girl looking over here like we're the second coming?"

"Because Eve mentioned the first," I said with a shrug and John about choked on himself, "Problems Johnny?"

He cleared his throat, "Nope. But you had one this morning."

"Yes I did and thank you for punching my brother in the face," I said.

"That's not exactly the problem I was talking about, Priceless."

"Oh, I know. But unless you want to be sucked off in the middle of the lobby, that's one problem I can't thank you for taking care of right now, Johnny," I responded innocently while Dan tried to control his laughter.

I went to walk away but John grabbed me around the waist and pulled me closer to him, "I don't know what happened but I like this Kendall better than the emotionless one,"he growled in my ear.

"No sex in my lobby, John," a strong voice called out. I pulled myself from Johnny's grasp when I saw his dad walk inside. "Kendall, it's good to see you again dear."

"It's nice to see you as well, Mr. Cena," I responded with a nervous smile.

"Sweetie you don't need to call me Mr. Cena all the time. It's too formal," he said, "Is everything alright dear? Your right cheek looks a little bit swollen."

My eyes grew wide, "Oh, um, I'm sure that it's nothing. I probably just, um, slept wrong or something-"

"I hit her Pop," Johnny interrupted.

I looked up at him and he actually looked remorseful. I looked over at Tasha and Eve and saw that they both were paying attention to the conversation.

"John I want an explanation."

"It's my fault, sir," I started.

"Not from you Kendall, I want one for him," John Cena Sr. said.

Johnny rubbed his hand over his face, "Her brother called her yesterday and threatened her and a friend of hers who worked for their family. He told her he was coming up here and bringing the friend with him. We argued a bit and I finally told her that we'd give them money if they let Tasha stay. Kendall was upset about her father giving her to us for free but I was willing to pay for Tasha. She made a comment and I hit her."

"He hit her hard."

I turned around and saw Hunter. I instinctively stepped closer to John, "It wasn't that hard," I defended.

"You practically flew across the kitchen," he countered.

"No I didn't. You must be confusing John hitting me with Evan pushing me. That's when I flew into the corner of the island. When John hit me I only fell to the floor," I argued.

"She's actually kinda right Hunter," Eve said, joining our conversation.

"Sir, I swear it's not as bad as it looks," I told Mr. Cena.

Hunter licked his and reached for my face. I stepped back and behind John, "Don't touch me. Why are you trying to get Johnny in trouble for no reason? I'm fine. The swelling will probably be gone by the end of the day."

"Yeah and the bruise will be gone by the end of the month," Hunter replied.

I glared at him but didn't answer. It's not his business to know about a bruise that may or may not be hidden behind a lot of make up. Okay, it is hidden and it's pretty gross looking, but he doesn't need to know that."

"Kendall, do you want to go back to Mississippi?" Mr. Cena asked.

"No!" I practically yelled at the same time Tasha did. We looked at each other, or faces a mirror image of the fear we were feeling, "Please don't make us go back," I said quietly.

"You're willing to stay eve after you've seen the temper he has?" he asked.

"I've seen worse tempers. I've been hit harder and more than once," I said as I looked to the ground, "Really the only reason it looks so swollen is because Teddy hit me the morning I left in the same spot."

He nodded once then turned his attention to his son, "He's been here already then? I recognized Tasha from their meetings."

"Yes, sir. But I didn't give him any money. I told him if he left her here that I'd withdraw our demand for money. But any more mistakes will not be good for them," Johnny answered, "And I may have punched him."

"And why did you punch him?"

"To teach him a lesson and because he said something I didn't like," Johnny replied with a shrug.

Mr. Cena shook his head, "Boy that temper of yours is going to get you in trouble one of these days."

"Pops, punching DiBiase didn't have anything to do with my temper. I just felt like doing it."

"Either way. How about you all get to work, huh?" he said, thus dismissing our little meeting.

**John's POV**

The girls were a complete distraction to me all damn day. Priceless insisted on plugging her iPod into my computer and 'playing music so softly no one would even be able to hear it.'

Yeah, that was a damn joke. Every time the song would change either Tasha or Priceless would say, "Ooh, I love this song. Johnny can you please turn it up?"

Then they would dance around my office like crazy people. I started calling Tasha 'Tiny Dancer' which shortened to just 'Tiny' and Kendall quickly caught on to the nickname.

"Tiny! Priceless!" I shouted, "I need thirty minutes of quiet time before we head home. Why don't you go bother Eve or one of my brothers or something?"

"I'm sorry Johnny," Priceless said guiltily, "We'll just wait for you in the lobby."

I nodded and massaged my temples. I tried to focus on writing up the last three reports of the day but my mind kept going to Priceless. She had been willing to lie to my dad about me hitting her. She defended me against Hunter. And she basically promised to suck me off. I really just want to get her home.

I almost called Eve to tell her to send Priceless back to my office. But I had work to do and my dad would kick my butt if I didn't get it done before I went home.

I was tidying up my office when my door opened and Priceless walked in looking slightly worried.

"Johnny," she started.

"What's wrong, babe?"

She finally looked at me fully and I could see a spot of the bruise I made. " I was walking to the bathroom and he pulled me into his office. I swear I told him I wanted to leave but he wouldn't let me."

"Priceless, who are you talking about?" I asked.

"Hunter. I didn't talk to him, even though he was trying to make me. I didn't want him to see the bruise and I'm so sorry that your dad knows. I should have put ice on it last night, but I wasn't thinking," she said.

"Kendall, slow down a minute. I don't care that my dad knows. It's not like he's ignorant to my temper. I'm not worried about that. I want to know what Hunter said. Did he hurt you?" I questioned.

"He didn't really hurt me. He just scared me. All he said was that you weren't any good for me. I don't understand though, he's supposed to be your friend. And he's married," she said.

"I told you I don't trust him."


	9. Chapter 9

**I hope this isn't too confusing for you. But I wanted to write this chapter so that you were getting both John and Kendall's POV at the same time, kind of. So **_John's POV is in italics_** while Kendall's POV is in bold.**** Then there is a memory of Kendall's that is in bold italics.  
>As always, thank you for your reviews! And hopefully you enjoy!<strong>

* * *

><p><em>I'm fucking getting married tomorrow. This has been the craziest week I've ever had. Priceless and I have grown closer though, she laughs and smiles. She seems to be happy, sometimes I can't tell if it's a front she's putting on just to suffice me or if she's truly happy. I guess time will tell.<em>

_We've got Tasha all settled into school. It's not what she's used to and Priceless basically had to shove her through the doors her fist day, but she seems to be liking it. I'm not sure she's made many friends yet, I mean she only started going Wednesday and today is Friday. She will soon._

_It's like having a child with Tasha living with us. Even though she is fully grown, she is still a child. And we've all fallen into a nice routine. Kendall wakes us up in the morning, tells us to get ready, then sets to make breakfast. She is an amazing cook. Then she sees us off to work and school respectively. This week during the day she has been going over the plans for the wedding and calling the caterers and the venues and the flower shops just to make sure they are still on board._

"**Tasha, I'm scared," I said quietly. **

**We are sitting in her room, on the floor. On the floor surrounding us are magazines, our new laptops, that Johnny bought us the other day, and our dinner plates. **

"**Johnny's a good guy, Ken. He seems to like taking care of you. He likes to take care of both of us," she replied.**

**That is what makes this seem harder. He takes care of Tasha, if I screw this up, I'm not the only one out of a house. Tasha loses her schooling and her job he promised. It's not just me anymore, it's about Tasha.**

**I heard the door bell ring and I jumped up to get it, knowing that it's Eve and Sam. I opted out of the bachelorette party simply because it would have only been the four of us. And I just didn't one. **

"**Remind me again, why I wasn't allowed to order you some strippers?" Eve complained when I opened the door.**

"**First, because I'm not into the whole stripper thing. My brothers had one to many over at our house on a weekly basis. It's gross. And second, Tiny is exactly that, she's underage," I responded to which Tasha groaned.**

"_Man, why are you just sitting there staring off into space?" Randy yelled, breaking me from my thoughts, "It's time to go. The limo is outside waiting on your dumb ass."_

_I rolled my eyes. It's not that I didn't want to go out for my last night on the town as a single man. It's just that I wanted to get the damn wedding done with. I wanted it to be the wedding night so that I could slowly take off that cream colored dress. So that she could shed me of all my clothes. So that I could finally get some ass._

"_Let's go," I said._

_Standing up from the hotel bed, I made my way out of the room and down to the limo where all of my brothers and friends were getting their drink on. If this was anything like Matt's bachelor party, it was going to be fucking epic. And I wouldn't remember shit. _

"**Have you had anymore problems with Evan?" Sam asked while we were making cookies. **

**I shook my head, "No, not recently. I don't know if he's done with me or not though. I am having problems with someone else."**

**I instantly regret saying that when they start to ask questions. My head goes back to my latest encounter with Hunter.**

"_**You can leave him, ya know?" he whispered in my ear.**_

_**I have no idea how he got in, but there was no way I could possibly get him out. I was home alone, Johnny and Tasha are working and wont be home for a few hours. Before I went upstairs to take a shower I thought I checked all of the doors to lock them.**_

_**I was sitting on my bed, wrapped up in a towel when he sauntered into my and Johnny's bedroom. I didn't see him but I felt when he put is arms around my waist and snuggled against me.**_

"_**Let me go," I said, my voice shaky, "Please."**_

_**He ignored me and turned me around to face him. The look in his eyes scared me. I pushed my hands against his chest, trying to get away from him but there was no moving him. He's almost a foot taller than me and weighs almost 260, where I am only 120. I can't fight him off.**_

"_**What do you want?" I asked, giving up my fight.**_

"_**I want you to leave John. He's not good for you," he said.**_

"_**You don't know me. You don't know what's good for me," I argued, "I want you to leave. Now. If you don't leave I'm telling Johnny."**_

_**That wasn't the right thing to say. The next thing I know, I'm being thrown onto the bed with Hunter hovering over me. **_

**I shake my head, dismissing the memory, "It's nothing."**

**They don't believe me, and really I don't either.**

"_I'm bored," I complained. We'd been at the strip club for three hours and it was boring. _

"_We probably should get you back to the hotel. We wouldn't want you missing your wedding tomorrow morning," Hunter joked._

_I held back a glared. He wasn't really joking. Something was going on with him and it had to do with Priceless and I was going to figure it out. My plan? Keep him close. So I was forced to deal with him. _

"_Who the hell made the bright decision to have a morning wedding?" my brother Sean asked._

_My other three brothers and I looked at each other before looking back at him and saying, "Mom."_

_My mom planned the wedding, for the most part. I thought we should have involved Kendall but her family said she would try to get out of it. I didn't really care what was going to happen honestly. I told my mom that I wanted a low key wedding. Nothing big, nothing fancy. She definitely pulled through._

_We made our way back to the hotel. The hotel that I didn't want to stay in. I said that I could just stay at my house, in my bed, with my Priceless. Mom wasn't having that though. She said we were going to do this the right way._

_When I got back to my room the first thing I did was call Priceless._

"_Hello?" she answered._

"_Hey babe," I said with a sigh, "How was your girls night?"_

"_Um, it was alright." _

_I rolled my eyes at how distant she was being._

"_That's good. Are you excited for tomorrow?" I asked her._

"_I don't know," she said quietly, "I don't know if I'm good enough to be a wife."_

"_You've been doing just fine this past week, Priceless. You aren't getting cold feet are you?" I joked._

"_Johnny, I've only known you for a week," she reminded me._

_I groaned inwardly. I didn't want to argue right now. I told myself that we weren't gong to argue before the wedding and I'd been doing a pretty good job with controlling my anger around her._

"_I'll see you tomorrow morning Kendall. I'm can't wait to see how beautiful you look when you walk down the aisle. I'm going to bed now. Good night," I said and I hung up the phone._

_If I had stayed on the phone any longer, I'd have lost it._

**The sun is just starting to come up and I've not slept yet. I'm not even married yet and I've already kept secrets from him. He doesn't know about what Hunter did two days ago. I couldn't tell him. **

**And now he's mad at me. Another thing I can't do when I'm around Johnny is show my insecurities. So, no back talk, no insecure thoughts, nothing about my family.**

**He gets really, really mad if I say anything about my family. My brothers and my father wont be at the wedding. They have something else to do. But mother will be there, or so she said. I shouldn't be surprised. I shouldn't be upset. I shouldn't wish I was born into a different family. I shouldn't hope that my father will someday realize that I'm a good person. I should be used to him hating me.**

**Just that thought makes my eyes sting with tears. Not only am I not good enough for my soon-to-be husband. I've never even been good enough for my own family. What makes anyone think I can start my own? Does John even want kids? I don't. And it's not just that I don't with them with him. I don't want kids ever. **

**I heard a knock on my bedroom door and a second later it opens to see my only friends walk in.**

"**Good morning sweetie," Sam said.**

**I tried to smile but it didn't work, "Morning."**

"**Kenny did you get any sleep last night?" Eve asked.**

**I shook my head, "No, I just had a lot on my mind."**

"**That is totally normal. I barely slept the night before my wedding either," Sam responded.**

**I wanted to say something about how at least she got to choose who she married. At least she wasn't being forced into a marriage with someone she didn't even know. At least Randy wasn't abusive.**

**I sighed and lightly touched my cheek. The bruise was still there but it could be easily covered with a bit of makeup. He hadn't hit me since that night, but I don't think it will be the last time he does. I can only hope that when he does, he doesn't beat me.**

"**I'm fine, guys. Let's just get ready. Our hair and nail appointment is in an hour and then we head straight to the church to get ready," I said, getting out of the bed.**

**Eve saw through my lie, I could see it in her eyes but she didn't say anything. She didn't have to. In the last few days it became habit for us to have whole conversations without even saying a word. It was nice, to have someone understand me. But at the same time it worried me. What if I showed her too much? Johnny would get made and then I wouldn't be able to see her anymore. **

**I quickly got ready to go get ready for my wedding but couldn't shake the thoughts of what was going to happen tonight. I was scared, mostly because I was still a little sore from Wednesday. It was fading though.**

**No, this day would get better. I was getting married. I put a smile on my face as we headed out to Johnny's Dodge Charger, my favorite car to drive, and took off to the salon. My life would never ever be perfect, but it might be decent.**

_I took a deep breath as I looked around the small chapel. The wood pews on either side of the aisle were filling up quickly while I stood in a back room with Randy._

"_If you hurt her, I will kill you," he threatened._

_I couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't found out about me hitting her. Priceless told everyone not to say a word, and they hadn't. Yet, at least. _

"_I'm serious, Cena," he growled._

_I held my hands up in defeat, "Alright, alright. I get it."_

_It's not like he'd be around to see if anything was going on anyway. He's going back to St. Louis tomorrow and I told him to take Evan's ass back with him. I wasn't about to let him throw her around. I can do what I want, she's mine. But that little fucker needs to stay as far away from me as possible._

"_It's time," Pastor Chris Jericho said as he walked into the room._

_I nodded and took another deep breath before walking out the door._

_Looking around at all the faces, I smiled warmly. Most of the people here thought this was a legit wedding. The story was that Priceless and I have known each other for years. We met and fell in love right away. But we were separated for many years, when we finally found each other again we decided we shouldn't wait. So we got married as soon as we could. Everyone believed it. Hell, I probably would have believed it too, given the right amount of details._

_I started paying attention to what was actually happening when Randy gave me a not so gentle nudge. When I looked up I saw Kendall walking towards me, the dress we'd picked out fitting her just as well as it did that first day. She quite literally took my breath away. Her long hair was pulled up loosely, but it looked elegant at the same time. Her makeup was natural, but enough to hid the fading bruise I'd given her._

_And she was smiling. Her eyes were connected with mine and neither of us were willing to let it go. She finally made it up to the alter and I felt like the whole world just simply stopped. I couldn't hear anything other than our breathing as I looked into her eyes._

"_John?" I heard Pastor Jericho say. I broke eye contact with Priceless and realized that it wasn't the first time he'd said my name, "Repeat after me."_

_Wow, we were at this part already._

"_I, John Felix Anthony Cena, take you, Kendall Grace DiBiase, as my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold from this day forward. In sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, till death do us part."_

_I repeated him as he broke up the sentences for me, looking back into Kendall's eyes._

"_Kendall? It's your turn."_

_She nodded before repeating, "I, Kendall Grace DiBiase, take you, John Felix Anthony Cena, as my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold from this day forward. In sickness and in health, in good times and in bad. Till death do us part."_

_We slipped our rings on the others finger and I heard Priceless gasp as she looked down at the ring I'd bought her. The diamond was large, very large but at the same time it was still simple. She looked up at me and mouthed, "Thank you."_

_I smiled and nodded as the pastor said, "I now pronounce you man and wife. John, you may kiss your bride."_

_And kiss her I did._

"**Holy shit," I heard someone whisper a little too loudly, "Did you see that rock he slipped on her finger?"**

"**She's probably a damn gold digger. I never heard him talk about anyone named Kenny before."**

"**She probably lied and said she was pregnant."**

"**Yeah, and in a few months she'll tell him she had a miscarriage."**

"**Guys, she's not even that pretty. I mean did you see the dress she was wearing?"**

"**It was just blah. John is more into the flashy things. There is no way he liked that dress on her."**

"**And her hair, if you blew on it I'm sure it would have come undone."**

"**Her makeup looked a little too much. Like she was trying too hard to be pretty or something."**

**Then I heard a ton of catty laughs and the bathroom door shut. I walked out of the stall that I'd hidden in while they were talking about me and looked in the mirror. I wanted so badly to just walk out without criticizing myself but it didn't work like that. **

**I knew the dress was too plain when I tried it on in the dress store. I should have known that he was just saying it was okay so that we could get out of the store.**

**Earlier this week, John mentioned something about liking the more natural look when it came to hair. He'd said something about too much hairspray was a turn off. So I asked the lady's to do something with that. It wasn't good enough. I wasn't good enough.**

**If only they knew why I had to have so much make up on, they wouldn't be saying all of these things. No, they would just say that I deserve to be hit.**

**I sighed and walked out of the bathroom and back to the large ball room the reception was being held. Knowing I'd be immediately bombarded by nosy people, I put a smile on my face. **

"**I don't think I've ever seen more beautiful Ken doll," I heard a voice from behind me say. **

**I shook my head and turned around, "That's because Ken doll is a man."**

"**A very metro man," he argued, making me giggle.**

"**Thank you Barbie doll," I said quietly, wrapping my arms around his waist, "I needed that."**

"**Not making moves on my wife are you?" Johnny said as he walked up to us.**

**I detached myself from Randy and went to John, like a lost little puppy. It's what I knew and I needed to do because I didn't want to get upset in front of everyone.**

**I looked at Randy's eyes and knew that we were both thinking the same thing. I'd been Randy's long before I was John's. He would always have a piece of me. **

"**It's almost time to get going," John said, pulling me away from Randy, "One more dance?"**

**I quickly obliged and reached my arms to wrap around his neck while laying my head on his chest. His arms went around my waist and pulled me closer to him. Any one who was watching this, who didn't know anything about either of us, would think this was a normal husband and wife sharing a dance. But it wasn't.**

**This was a new wife who was scared to death of doing something wrong. This was a husband who had already proved what would happen if I crossed the line. This was a wife who strives to be everything her husband asks of her. **

**But I was also the wife who had recently gotten molested by her husbands friend and not said a word about it. I shuddered and promised myself that it was the last time I'd think of what Hunter did. **

**The song came to an end, but I didn't want to let go. When Johnny had his arms wrapped around me, nothing in the world mattered. I felt like nothing could hurt me, as long as he was near me.**

"**Priceless," he whispered, "I really just want to get you home."**

**I pulled away slightly and smiled up at him, "Well, why would you want to do that?"**

"**So that I can get to know Mrs. Kendall Cena a little better," he said, his voice husky.**

**Without saying a word I turned around and walked towards the exit. When I looked back I saw Johnny standing in the same spot. I sighed and shook my head, "Are we going or not?"**

**Our guests laughed as John all but ran over to me saying, "Thanks for coming. We've gotta cum now ourselves."**


	10. Chapter 10

**I am terribly sorry that it has taken all weekend for me to get this updated. I'm on a new medication and I'm still adjusting to the side effects. Please forgive me.  
>I don't think I've said this yet for this story, so I don't own anyone in the WWE. I only own my OC's. So, yeah. [:<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Kendall's POV<strong>

"Did you have to tell them that we were going to cum?" I asked slightly embarrassed, "They don't like me as it is."

"What do you mean they don't like you? Who doesn't like you?"

We were on our way to our house and I was getting nervous. So naturally, word vomit.

"I don't know who they were. I just overheard some women in the bathroom talking about me," I said with a shrug, "It's just like I've always suspected, I'm not good enough for you Johnny."

"I'll be the judge of whether you're good enough when we get inside," he laughed until he saw the seriousness on my face. I quickly wiped it away when I saw his anger getting to him. I didn't want to give him a reason to be angry with me tonight.

We pulled up to the house and he practically dragged me out of the car. When he shut the door behind me, he pinned me against it.

"I think you like to be against this door," he whispered, teasing my shoulders and neck with the tips of his fingers.

"I think you like putting me against the door," I replied, giving him a gentle shove and taking off running through the house.

Our laughs filled the house as he chased me. I ran everywhere as fast as I could, downstairs and back up to the main floor. He finally caught me in the kitchen where he picked me up and place me on the counter, settling between my legs.

I grabbed his face in my hands and pulled it towards me, sighing in content when his lips met mine. My lips parted, allowing him entrance before he even asked for it. Unlike the other times he's kissed me, I didn't hold back a moan as his tongue flicked against mine and his hands traveled my body.

"Johnny," I breathed against his lips, "Take me to bed."

He picked me up again, faster than I could blink and carried me upstairs to our room. When we got there and he set me on my feet, I gasped my hand going to my mouth in shock. The floor was covered with rose petals and there were candles lit all throughout the room. It was so romantic.

"When did you do this?" I whispered.

"After you left for your appointment this morning. Randy got mad at me because I disappeared for almost an hour," he told me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I turned in his arms, my hands making their way to his chest and finding the buttons to his shirt. I hadn't even realized he'd taken off his jacket until just now. Slowly sliding the shirt off his shoulders, I looked up to his eyes.

"The ceremony was beautiful, Johnny," I said, "Thank you."

He didn't respond, only leaned down to capture my lips in his. He pulled away from me and turned me around, taking the pins in my hair out. As my hair slowly fell on my back he swiped it over a shoulder to unzip my dress. I shivered as his knuckles grazed my skin and felt goosebumps forming. His nose nuzzled the crook of my neck and I leaned into his chest as he slid the straps down my shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. Immersed in the feel of his skin against mine, I rubbed my back against his chest and heard him groan before he pushed me towards the bed, unclasping my bra in the process.

Once more, he picked me up and set me gently in the middle of our bed. He stood before me in his dress pants while I propped myself up, wearing only a pair of white panties. John eased himself on the bed, hovering over me being careful not to put any of his weight on me as he kissed down my body. I gasped loudly when he took one nipple into his mouth alternately sucking and biting it gently while molding the other with his hand. He switched nipples after he was satisfied with the amount of pleasure he'd shown the one before his lips began their assault down the rest of my body. His fingers hooked around either side of my panties and pulled them down my legs slowly before kissing back up. His mouth was close to my heat when he stopped suddenly.

"What is that?" he asked, his voice filled with venom.

"What is what?" I asked breathlessly.

"You have a bite mark bruise on your thigh," he growled.

My heart stopped in realization. Hunter bruised me. I hadn't realized that, I hadn't known that.

"You've cheated on me already?" he yelled, "You've been here for barely a week and we've been married for less than 24 hours and you cheated on me."

I shook my head furiously and tried to sit up, only to have John push me back down on the bed.

"Johnny, no! Please listen," I begged, but he cut me off with a sharp slap to the face.

"It's no wonder Randy regrets being with you. He probably wasn't even your first. You probably just lied to him, too didn't you," he taunted, "That's why you didn't want to have sex with me. You were sexing someone else. Who is it? Who are you sleeping with?"

"I'm not sleeping with anyone, Johnny-"

"Don't lie to me, Kendall. You have the proof on your damn body," he yelled again, getting off the bed and pulling me with him, "Was it in my bed?"

I didn't answer, just looked down at the floor. Apparently that was all the answer he needed though because he shoved me down to the rose covered floor and walked out of the room. Jumping up, I followed him, making sure to grab his discarded dress shirt and slip it over my naked body.

"Wait. Please! If you'll just listen-"

He turned around quickly just as he reached the stairs and grabbed my arms. For a second he just stared at me as if trying to find the answer in my eyes but his anger took over and I felt myself being thrown down the stairs. I groaned as I hit the bottom, holding onto my now sore side and regretted not telling him about it in the first place. I watched as he walked down towards me, seemingly in slow motion.

"It was Hunter," I gasped, "but I didn't sleep with him, I swear. I didn't want him to touch me."

His icy blue eyes thawed slightly as he took in my words. "Why didn't you tell me?" he growled as he finally reached me.

He didn't give me a chance to answer, however, because as soon as I opened my mouth he slapped me and repeated his question.

"John, please stop," I begged after he hit me a few more times. I scooted away from him to create some distance. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to react like this. I'm sorry!"

"When did it happen?" his anger wasn't fading and I was growing more and more fearful of him.

"Wednesday, while you and Tiny were at work," I all but whispered.

He nodded once and walked back upstairs. I didn't move from the floor, my body too sore and just wanting to rest. Though I new I needed to get ice, I couldn't let anyone suspect anything again. I didn't want to give John anymore reason to hurt me.

After a few minutes, I think, I pushed myself up off the floor and made my way to the kitchen to retrieve some ice. Just as I walked through the opening, the garage door opened and I froze. Tasha walked through the door quietly, jumping a foot in the air when she turned around and saw me standing there.

"Kenny, what are you doing down here?" she asked.

"Shh," I shushed before whispering, "It's a long story. John's kind of mad at me right now. So just go down to your room and stay there until I get you tomorrow or call Eve and ask to stay there."

"Is everything alright? Your cheek is really red," she mentioned.

I heard footsteps on the stairs and started to plead with her, "Tasha go to your room. Please."

She must have seen the panic in my eyes because she nodded quickly and hightailed it out of the kitchen towards the basement door. I breathed a sigh of relief when she was out of reach, I didn't want her to get in the way of John's rage. When we were still living in Mississippi, if she was in my room when one of the boys were angry with me, they'd end up punishing her as well. I didn't want to go through that here, she is too young to be hit by a man twice her age.

I walked to the freezer with the help of the counters, pausing only to get a plastic bag, and filled it with ice. I almost screamed when the bag was taken from my hands. Taking a deep breath, I turned around and met John's blue eyes, but I quickly looked to the floor.

"Please don't hurt me anymore tonight," I whispered.

**John's POV**

When those words left her mouth, my heart nearly broke. _Nearly._

Should I have thrown her down the stairs? Probably not.

Should I have listened to her when I first asked her why the hell she had a damn bite mark on her leg? Probably.

But the stupid bitch also should have told me that Hunter touched her. She should have told me that he broke into our house and put his hands on her. But she didn't and she had to face the consequences of me finding out. On our wedding night. Again, stupid bitch.

I set the bag of ice on the island and took her face in my hands, making sure I didn't squeeze too tightly. Kissing her lightly I slipped my dress shirt off her shoulders, but she pulled away before it could fall to the floor.

"Tiny's home."

"What does that matter?" I asked.

She looked up at me and narrowed her eyes, "John, she's a 17 year old girl."

"Yes, and from what your brother said it wouldn't be her first time being around sex. She'd probably even like to join," I joked.

Without saying a word, she walked around me, snatched up the bag of ice and limped towards the stairs. I counted to ten before following after her, knowing she wouldn't make it up the stairs by herself and that I needed to keep my anger in check at least a little bit in order to help her up them. Sneaking one arm under her knees and the other catching her head just before it hit the floor, I picked her up, smirking when she screamed. I carried her back up to our bedroom and, not so gently, dropped her on the bed. She grunted at the movement.

"Well, I was going to apologize for throwing you down the stairs, but you being a bitch in the kitchen made me decide against it," I told her.

"Tiny is a child," she said in a hushed voice, "What my brothers did to her is illegal. What you mentioned doing is illegal. I asked for her to be here so that I could protect her, but if you are only going to threaten to hurt her the same way they did then I will not hesitate to turn you into the police John Felix Anthony Cena."

I looked her in the eyes and could see that she was deadly serious, "Priceless, I was only joking-"

"No. Don't you dare call me Priceless," she argued.

I'd had enough by then. I joined her on the bed and covered her mouth with my hand. This was our wedding night. This was suppose to be a good night, but because she felt the need to keep secrets it was ruined.

"Wives don't keep secrets from their husbands," I chastised, "Wives don't argue with their husbands. Wives don't tell their husbands they are wrong. You are my wife, you do what I say, and you tell me when another man touches you. Understand?"

She nodded and I moved my hand away from her mouth.

"Good girl. Now, tell me who you belong to," I said as my hands began to wander her body. When she didn't say anything, I pinched the skin where I was touching. "Tell me who you belong to."

"You," she gasped, "I belong to you."

"That's right. You catch on quickly, Kendall. Now if only I could get you to stop talking back to me, everything would be just fine," I taunted as my hands ran lower to her wet warmth, "What's this? Do you want to know what I feel like inside you?"

I heard her moan something incoherent and smirked. In less than thirty seconds she'd turned to jello under my touch. It took even less time for me to take my belt off and get my pants undone and off.

**Tasha's POV**

I heard her scream and wanted nothing more than to run upstairs to help her. But I knew that if I did, then John would be angry at me as well. I don't have a clue as to why he's upset, but I don't think I want to know. He hadn't seemed like the kind of man that would hit either of us. And he'd taken to me so quickly, treating me like I was his own flesh and blood. It had given me hope, even knowing he'd hit Kenny before.

My hope diminished tonight though, when I came home and found her nearly broken in the kitchen. Although, she's been worse, a lot worse. She hadn't been prepared this time. We'd both thought those days were over with. We thought we wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.

I know why she told me to stay downstairs and it broke my heart even more. She didn't want me in harms way. She was protecting me by making me stay down here, but here that scream and then nothing else, it scared me. So I called the only person who I knew would be able to help.

"Tiny, what are you doing awake still? It's close to three in the morning?" she complained groggily when she answered. I'd called her five times before she finally picked up.

"Eve," I pleaded, keeping my voice low.

"Tiny, what's wrong?" she asked, knowing instantly that something wasn't right.

"When I got home, Kenny said he was mad at her. She told me to go downstairs and stay here until she came to get me in the morning. Then we heard footsteps coming down to the kitchen and she practically pushed me from the room," I recounted.

"Babe, maybe she just didn't want you to hear them having sex," she suggested.

"A few minutes after I came down here, I heard a scream. But I haven't heard anything since then. Eve, I'm scared."

"I'm sure that everything is alright Tiny. If anything were wrong, don't you think someone would tell you? I mean, I don't know. It's just, it is their wedding night so maybe their doing some kind of nasty, freaky shit and John hit her spot or something, I don't know," Eve said.

"Ewwwww. That is so gross, I don't want to think about that. Their practically my parents right now. I don't want to hear about them doing the nasty," I groaned.

"That's probably why Kenny asked you to say downstairs then. Who knows how long they'll be at it. Just get some sleep Tiny, okay? Call me in the morning, when you wake up and what not. I'm sure Kenny will be up by then and everything will be just fine and dandy. Alrighty?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah. You're probably right. I'm sorry for waking you up, Evie. Good night," I yawned.

"Don't worry about it, you can call me any time you need me. Especially if you think something is wrong," she assured me, "Good night."

I hung up the phone and laid back in my bed as another yawn took over my body. Eve was probably right, I was just overreacting. After everything Kenny and I had been through, it was normal to be worried, even over the simplest scream. That could just be from pure please, I shuddered at the thought.

The next thing I know, I'm being shaken. I groaned and tried to swat at whoever it was but they just laughed.

"Come on, sleepy head. It's time to wake up. I made breakfast."

I jumped right out of bed when I heard Kenny's voice and hugged her as tight as I could. She tensed up and hissed in pain, causing me to release my hold.

"You're hurt," I stated.

She only nodded and looked at the floor.

"Kenny. I heard you scream last night, just after you sent me downstairs,"i started but stopped when I saw her shaking her head.

"He didn't hurt me then. He only scared me, I swear. I was trying to walk up the stairs but it wasn't working very well. John walked up behind me and picked me up, scaring the hell out of me in the process, although I think that was his plan," she explained.

The look on her face told me that she was being truthful, not that she'd ever actually been able to lie to me. I knew and saw too much.

"Why was he mad?" I asked cautiously.

She looked at the floor again, "He thought I wasn't being faithful." She must have noticed my confused look because she went on to explain what happened between her and Hunter and all of the events that took place before I found her in the kitchen.

I looked her up and down, checking for any visible bruises.

"You wont find any. My face isn't swollen either," she told me, "I learned my lesson last time. I don't want people asking questions. The ones people would see, I covered and had ice on all night, well mostly all night."

"Mostly?' I questioned.

"John didn't think it was fair that I ruined his wedding night. He said that Hunter molesting me wasn't going to stop him from getting to have sex with his new wife on his wedding night," she told me with a sigh, "But no more. It's a new day. He is in a better mood than last night. Please don't say anything and don't act like you know. Okay?"

I nodded in agreement, but my head was screaming to say no. They hadn't even been married for a full day and he was abusing his power as her husband. I could only hope that I wouldn't be on the receiving end of his rage.


	11. Chapter 11

**Kendall's POV**

Gleeful screams fulled the house as I stood making dinner in the kitchen.

"John!" Tasha laughed, "Stop tickling me!"

I smiled and shook my head, thinking about how good of an idea it was to have her move here. She never really got the chance to have a childhood, she worked for my family basically from the time she could walk. So this 'play time' with John, in my opinion at least, is exactly what she needs.

An ear piercing scream filled the kitchen, telling me that Tiny had escaped John and was looking to me for saving. I was proven correct when she hid behind me.

"I'm not here," she whispered.

I shook my head again as I worked the meat and bread crumbs together for meatballs.

"Priceless, have you seen Tiny?" John asked as he joined us in the kitchen.

I was going to say no when she laughed, giving herself away. John charged at us but instead of getting Tiny, who ran out of his reach, he picked me up and twirled me around, while I screamed. He finally set me down at I said, "John Felix Anthony, if you want to eat dinner tonight, you'll put me down right this second."

He placed a soft kiss on the top of my head and wrapped his arms around my waist, "I'm sorry about last week," he apologized, "I overreacted and I shouldn't have done what I did."

"Whadya do?" Tiny asked.

"Tasha Ann, don't you have homework or something," I asked, looking at her pointedly.

She sighed dramatically, "Fine. I can see when I'm not wanted."

When she walked out of the kitchen John started talking again, "Priceless, will you please look at me?"

I turned around to face him but when he started to apologize again I shook my head, "John just don't. We both know that the next time you lose your temper I'll be on the receiving end. So please don't apologize for it because I know, even if you can't admit it, that it'll happen again."

"I didn't mean for it to get so out of hand. I didn't mean to throw you down the stairs," he said letting out a frustrated breath.

I laughed sarcastically, "Yes, that's right. I accidentally slipped out of your ridiculously tight grasp as you held me over the stairs."

"Kendall, you're pushing it," he warned, "I'm trying to apologize to you and you're throwing it in my face."

"Ooh, this time I get told before I get hit. That's refreshing," I said with a roll of my eyes.

John went to respond but the door bell rang.

"Saved by the bell," I joked, "Can you get that? I'm busy making you dinner."

He banged his fist into a cupboard as he walked out of the kitchen, letting out some of his anger before he got to the door. I knew that I was walking a thin line and that I was testing his patience, but the last thing I want to hear every time he hits me is an apology. I didn't want an apology he didn't mean. If he meant it, then he'd never hit me again, but he and I both knew he would.

I heard a muffled "Hey man what's up" from John. Then what sounded like someone punching something. Then John yelled "What the fuck, man!" Then more hitting and grunting. I ran to the front room to see Randy and John beating on each other.

"What the hell is going on here?" I yelled, causing the two meat heads to stop and look my way, "If y'all are going to fight do it outside of my house. I will not let you tear up the furniture and walls in here."

"I didn't do anything! I opened the door and this fucker socked me," John said as he rubbed his jaw.

"Randal!" I admonished.

"I had good reason," he grumbled, "Ken doll, why didn't you tell me he hit you?"

Silence took over the room as they both waited for me to say something. I whispered the first the that came to mind, "Who told you?"

"Well, thanks for incriminating your husband."

"Oh shut up, John. He already knows, why lie to him?" I asked, "Who told you Randy?"

"That doesn't matter-"

"Yes it does," I shouted. Then it dawned on me. There was only one person who would tell Randy. I looked at John and asked, "Where is he?"

"I had him sent away. He's not allowed contact with anyone from the main group. He's been advised to leave the country," John answered.

"And if he doesn't listen?" John only shook his head, indicating that I didn't want to know. I turned back to Randy, "Did you hear about Hunter's dismissal and his warnings?"

He nodded, "We didn't know what it was about though."

"Well maybe you should get the facts before you come into my house and start being up my husband," I advised, "You didn't even ask questions before you started swinging your fists. How did you know that you could trust Hunter over the man who had him dismissed?"

"That's right baby, you tell him," John muttered, I glared at him.

"Ken doll, you can't tell me you're actually defending him," Randy scoffed.

"Randy, stop talking. You just get stupider every time you open your mouth," I retorted causing John to snort his laughter, only to stop when I sent him another glare, "The next two things that come from your mouth better be an apology and some damn questions about why Hunter has been dismissed."

"Why should I apologize?" he sneered.

"First because you came into our house and punched him for something you know nothing about. Second, I'll call Sammy and tell her that you flew your ass here and punched John for no reason. She'll believe me over you. And third, because if you want spaghetti with homemade meatballs, you'll apologize," I shrugged.

"Sorry John," he muttered while scratching the back of his head, "Why did you dismiss Hunter?"

John looked at me, silently asking me if I was going to answer but I shook my head. "I'm going to go check on dinner. Just tell him the basics, please Johnny."

He nodded and pulled me into his arms. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"John don't-"

"I'm not talking about that. I'm sorry that I wasn't here to protect you," he explained.

I looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes. I bit my lip as it started to quiver and whispered, "Thank you."

I rushed back to the kitchen before either man saw the tears that were already escaping my eyes. It meant a lot to me, what he said. And it proved again that he wasn't going to let anyone, other than himself apparently, hurt me. And if they did there would be consequences for it.

Evan's consequence was being sent back to St. Louis. Kelly was so mad when she found out. She had liked it here and wanted to stay. Hunter's consequence was excommunication and if he didn't get the hell outta dodge he'd be dead.

The thought of that scared me a bit. What would happen if I crossed John too far? I mean, the times he's hit me really weren't that bad. I've been hit much, much worse before, so I wasn't too worried about that. But John was more of a psychological punisher. He liked to use people's minds against them and that's what scares me the most.

**Randy's POV**

John had this stupid fucking grin on his face when Ken doll walked back to the kitchen. I would have given anything to just wipe it off. Fucker.

"She called me Johnny," he muttered, more to himself than to me, "She hasn't called me that since- never mind."

"John what the hell is going on? Hunter showed up at my place a few days ago say you hit Ken doll. And we heard shit about you kicking him out but we didn't know why," I said.

"I didn't trust him from the beginning, you know that. But when they came over to meet Priceless, he was a bit too friendly for my liking. That was the night I hit her. And no, before you ask, I didn't hit her because of him. Anyway, the next day she defended me against him, just like she did to you," John told me.

"So you sent him away? Because she defended you?" I asked, not following him at all.

"Shut up and let me finish," he said, "I don't know the details and trust me she wont tell you because she hasn't even told Tasha. I didn't even find out until our wedding night and that's only because I saw the bruises she didn't know she had."

"Bruises from what? Damn it John! Just get to the point!"

"The bastard molested her three days before the wedding."

I couldn't think. I heard him wrong. No one touched her in any way she hadn't wanted them too. No, this was just an excuse. To get the heat off of John. He was making her tell stories so that people didn't suspect him of abuse. But then how did they know it was Hunter who told me? And he was dismissed before he told me. God damn it.

"Tiny and I were at work. I don't know how he got in and neither does Priceless. He did it in our bed, Randy. What was I supposed to do? Give him a slap on the wrist? No, that motherfucker is dead if I ever see him again," he promised.

I looked into his eyes and saw that he was actually upset about what happened. Not that I didn't expect him to be, just not with as much emotion as he was showing right now.

"Dude, you're like, genuinely upset about this," I stated.

"She's my fucking wife, Randy," he shouted, "I'm supposed to protect her from things like that. She should have been safe in our house. But I didn't and she wasn't."

Just as I was going to respond, a flash of purple ran in front of me and jumped on John. Her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck. It wouldn't be complete if her lips weren't connected to his in the largest display of passion I have ever seen Kendall show. Ever. John must have been just as shocked as I was because I saw him almost tumble as he tried to support the sudden onslaught of unexpected force.

**John's POV**

In that moment, I wanted to kill Randy. How could I not be upset about it? He molested my wife. And she hadn't told me. And I thought she'd cheated on me. So, that part was all on her, but it wasn't her fault he had touched her.

And then the anger was just gone. It was replaced by Priceless practically mauling me to death with her body. But there was no way that I was going to complain. She hasn't initiated any kind of intimacy since our wedding night and I'd pretty much thrown that in her face. So this, right now. Standing here, barely being able to keep my balance as she jumped into my arms and kissed me, there is no way I'm stopping it. I don't care who is watching.

But Priceless pulled back a bit and whispered in my ear, "I'm fine. I'm here. I'm safe."

I gently set her on the ground and made her look in my eyes. She knew that I wasn't believing her in the least. I shook my head but stopped when she gave me a look and walked back to the kitchen. I looked at Randy but he just shrugged and followed her.

"Ken doll, why didn't you tell anyone?" he asked.

"Don't push it Randy," I whispered. She didn't want to talk about it. At all. I'd even tried to pull the whole 'I'm your husband, I deserve to know these things' card. That didn't even work. Tiny tried using her 'But you tell me everything' excuse that had apparently worked about a billion times in the past, nothing. Eve tried their telepathy thing they've got going on, but she was blocking that part out. Finally, I just gave up trying. If she doesn't want us to know then she's not going to tell us. If she wants us to know, she'll let us in. I'm not going to push her anymore.

"Because." Her answer was short and simple. She was clearly telling him that it was the end of the conversation. He looked to me and I just shrugged as he'd done to me.

"Ken doll," he whined, "Please talk to me."

She turned and glared at him, "What? What could you possibly want Randal?"

Her words were sharp and he visibly wince at them. He knew where her animosity towards him was coming from. They never got a chance to sit down and talk.

"Barbie doll," he corrected softly.

"No," she said adamantly shaking her head.

"Fine, if you wont talk then I will. I didn't mean what I said. Well, I did. I just didn't mean for it to come out the way you took it. I never meant that I regretted being your-"

"Can we have this conversation later? As in, when my husband isn't in the room and when I'm not in the middle of making dinner," she interrupted.

"As in not tonight," he questioned a defeated tone in his voice.

"Exactly."

"Then when? Because to be perfectly honest, there never will be a right time for this conversation," he admitted.

"How about never then?' Priceless suggested.

Randy gaped at her. Hell, I gaped at her. I'd never heard her stand up for herself against anyone like she was right now. Well, except for our small conversation that Randy interrupted.

"Kendall, we need to talk about this. Obviously you're upset about it or you wouldn't be acting like this," Randy said as he finally gained composure.

"I think I have every right to be upset Randy. I think I have every right to act the way I'm acting towards you right now. First, you break my heart. Then you barge in here, my house, and try to break my husbands face. Would you have expected Sammy to react any differently than I am right now?" she snapped.

"No, I wouldn't have expected Sam to react any differently. But that's the thing. You aren't Sam. You are two completely different people. You were brought up differently and have different backgrounds," Randy explained softly.

"Next thing you'll say is that Sammy would've been strong enough to fight him off. She never would have let him close enough to touch her in the first place. She would have trusted her husband enough to tell him what happened," Priceless said, her voice cracking.

"That's because she can trust me!" Randy shouted.

"But I can't. I can't trust you Randy. You did the one thing you promised you wouldn't do. And then you act like I should just forget about it. You act like it's nothing. My whole life you were my one constant. For 23 years you were the one person I knew I could go to if something went wrong-"

"You still can. I'm still here for you," he interrupted.

"No, Randy. You're not here for me. You are in St. Louis. I'm here and I'm broken. And there's no fixing me. None. Nothing you can say will ever fix the way I feel. In less than ten words you completed the one task my father and brothers have been trying to do for my whole life. You can't just apologize and expect everything to be okay. That's not the way it works in my life. You promised me that nothing would go wrong. That one night, remember? The night before your wedding. You promised me that you'd always be my best friend," Priceless said before whispering, "You broke your promise."

With that being said, she walked out of the kitchen as quickly as she could, not looking at either of us. I knew, when she asked him how Sam would react, that his response would affect her badly. She'd told me that he always compared her to his wife. It was part of the reason she never felt good enough. She thought that she meant enough to him, that he loved her enough, but when he met Sam it was like they'd never shared anything. He'd found someone better and didn't waste any time showing her off.

"What do I do man?" Randy asked me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"How am I suppose to know? You've known her her whole life. I've only known the girl for two weeks," I said.

"Dinner's ready!" I heard Priceless yell.

Randy sighed giving me a defeated shake of his head. If he wanted her to talk to him, he'd have to fight for her attention. Giving up was not an option. It only showed her that she wasn't worth his time. It showed her that she didn't mean anything to him.

But he needed to figure that out on his own. It would have been pretty sad if I knew her better than he did. Especially after he claimed that they were oh so close. I wasn't going to get in the middle of it. This issue is between the two of them and it's honestly not my business. When either start bringing my name into the conversation then it'll be my business. But until then.

"Tasha, I said dinner is ready. If you aren't up here in three minutes, I'm eating without you!" Priceless yelled again.

I rolled my eyes, "Can you just imagine what she'll sound like when that's our kids she's yelling out?"

Randy looked at me funny, "What are you talking about? Ken doll doesn't want kids. She all but sworn that she'll never have kids as long as she lives."

I smirked at him, "That's kinda funny. We haven't used any kind of protection. And I don't plan on starting anytime soon."

He looked at me like he wanted to say something, but held back. It made me suspicious. Was she taking birth control pills and not telling me?


	12. Chapter 12

**Randy's POV**

"I can't even begin to describe to you how awkward dinner was," I complained over the phone, "Ken doll acted as if I wasn't even there and if I said anything to her she would call me Randal."

"_Babe, I told you this would happen. I told you she wouldn't trust you anymore," _my wife, Sam reasoned.

"Oh, but it gets better. John brings up having kids," I told her.

"_No he didn't"_

"Mhm. And he says 'Priceless, you're not on birth control are you?' Do you wanna know what that sneaky little-"

"_Randy be nice,"_ Sam said.

"Sorry," I said, knowing full well I sound like a child who just got yelled at by his mother, "Anyway, she said 'no I'm not on the pill.'"

"_So, she's not on the pill. I don't understand what's so terrible about that. I mean, I know Kenny doesn't want kids, but if she's not on the pill then she's not on the pill,"_ Sam replied.

"That wasn't what he asked, Sam. She is on birth control, just not the pill. She has an IUD. She got it like a year after her and I, ya know," I said and cleared my throat. It was still a bit uncomfortable for me to talk about it with Sam. I'd never told her, simply because I didn't want her to think there was any reason Ken doll and I shouldn't be friends. "Any way. She lied to him, Sam. I've never seen her lie to anyone before, but she looked him right in his eyes and lied. She isn't the same girl I used to know."

"_Technically, she didn't lie. She just didn't tell him the full truth. It's his own fault for not pushing it more. And as for her not being the same girl you used to know, she doesn't have to be that girl anymore. She doesn't have to watch what she says and worry about if her dad or brothers are going to be mad at her about it. This is what we wanted, remember? We wanted her to be able to stand up for herself,"_ she replied.

"But at what cost?"

She didn't have an answer, because she didn't know. And quite honestly I didn't either. Was she standing up for herself or more for John? Although, she never stood up for her brothers or her dad. Not once. She never defended their actions. She was very loyal to them, as she was trained. She never once lied. That was the one thing I didn't want her to lose. Just because she was allowed to be some what free didn't mean she could lie about things.

I shouldn't be worried about it though, because it's not my business. If I were John, I'd be really pissed that she was lying. But it wasn't my business to tell him, it wasn't my place to tell him that she was lying. She needs to do that. I don't want to know what he'll do when he finds out though. That's what worries me, I think. I know what he's capable of, even if she doesn't

**Tasha's POV**

"Kenny," I insisted in a hushed voice.

"What?" she asked in the same tone.

"You know what. You lied."

"No I didn't"

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't"

"Yes you did."

"If I had lied then I would have said 'No John, I'm not on any kind of birth control at all.' However, I simply said 'No Johnny, I'm not on the pill.' Therefore, no lying was involved in the conversation at dinner tonight," she said with a shrug.

I flopped down on my bed with a sigh, "You do realize how angry he's going to be when he finds out right? He is going to be absolutely pissed off."

"He isn't going to find out. When I'm ready, _if_ I'm ready, I'll have it taken out. Until then, we'll just think that we aren't compatible that way. His sperm wont mix with my eggs or something like that," she explained.

"Ew, please stop talking about his sperm and your eggs. That's gross. I don't want to know about you guys having sex. And keep it upstairs because I never wanna hear it, k? Thanks," I joked.

She smiled my way, "How is school going? I know you've said good every single day but you haven't really gone into detail."

"I like it, a lot. The people are pretty nice, they aren't too snobby or anything. And they've included me a bit too. Like, I've been sitting with the same people at lunch all week and I have some people that I talk to in my classes. I don't have much to talk about though, mostly because I don't know what to tell them," I looked up at her sheepishly and in a small voice asked, "Kenny, what do I tell them?'

She put her chin in her hand, as if thinking, for a few minutes before exclaiming, "Oh! I've got it! How about you have an deliciously young aunt who recently got married to a wretchedly old man, who just so happens to have graduated from Cushing. Long story short, dude thought you'd have a better opportunity of getting into a really great university if you graduated from Cushing as well. Conclusion, you moved here with me and are now going to Cushing."

I laughed at her description, "Okay, but let's simplify it just a bit. My aunt just recently got married. And her new husband graduated from Cushing, which happens to be a great school that will give his new wife's favorite niece a wonderful opportunity to get out from under their family's thumb. Conclusion, I moved here and am now going to Cushing."

"Fine, fine, fine. I guess you can leave out me being deliciously young and Johnny being wretchedly old," she laughed with a wink.

"You called him Johnny," I pointed out, "You haven't done that since he threw-"

"I know. He said the same thing today. But, when Randy got here, after they fought and what not, when Johnny was telling him what happened, Randy said something about how Johnny was actually upset about the whole Hunter thing, like he was surprised that he would be upset or something. And Johnny said 'she's my fucking wife, Randy. I'm suppose to protect her from things like that.' It just, I don't know, meant a lot to me. No one has ever really cared that much, no one has ever really wanted to protect me like that, ya know?"

I nodded, realizing how much John was helping us. First, he got Kenny away from her brothers and everything they did to her. Then, he got me away from them. And now, he's all but promised to our faces that he's going to protect us from anyone who wants to hurt us. And even though the possibility of him hurting us is always going to be there, having someone who would want to protect us is comforting in ways that I can't even begin to explain.

"I don't know if I've ever told you this, it's only been like two weeks," I began, "but thank you. For bringing me here and keeping me. For taking me in and taking care of me. For not sending me back to them and what they did."

"Sweetie, I didn't have anything to do with that. When Teddy told me he was coming here and bringing you, I panicked; even more when Johnny told me I was going to work with him because I knew that if I wasn't here when you guys got here then Teddy would have hurt you. That's why Johnny hit me that night, well kinda. I told him that I didn't want to go to work with him. He said that he'd have his brothers come here and have a 'talk' with Ted and that you wouldn't be going back to Mississippi with him; even if it meant him paying them to keep you here. That's when he hit me. I said something sarcastic about him paying for you and not me and he didn't like it," she admitted.

I looked at her, flabbergasted, "What?"

"I would have given anything for you to be here, you know that. But I was afraid to ask for anything, hell I'm still afraid to ask for things. And it honestly had nothing to do with the fact that it was you, more of the fact that my father doesn't give anything away for free, but he did me. It just hurt that he'd pay for someone who really wouldn't be anything to him, but he wouldn't pay anything for someone who was going to be his wife," she ranted quickly.

"That's not what I was whating," I told her, "John suggested me staying?" she nodded, "Why? Not that I'm mad or anything, I'm not trying to be ungrateful. I just, thought it was you who asked, well begged, and that was why he hit you."

"Nope, I got hit because of my own stupidity. Which is usually whenever I open my mouth, so I'm kinda shocked that it hasn't happened more often, but I'm thankful it hasn't. Anyway, I don't know why. You'll have to ask Johnny," she responded with a shrug.

"Hey Priceless? You down here?"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"Yeah, just talking with Tiny," she answered, "She actually has a question for you."

I looked at her like she was crazy. She wasn't the only person who had an irrational fear of asking questions. I grew up in the same house she did, I just didn't live there. She sent me an encouraging look as John walked into my rather large room and plopped down on the floor in front my desk chair where Kenny was sitting.

"Oh really? What would that be?" he asked, obviously intrigued.

"Well, um. It's just that. Kenny and I were, um. I was wondering." Yeah, I stammer a lot when I get nervous. I looked to Kenny for help.

"We were talking about school and she said that she wanted to make friends but she didn't know what to tell people," she explained, "So we made up a story about how I'm her aunt and you're my new husband. She's my favorite niece and you gave her an opportunity to get out from under our family's thumb and also a great education. Well that lead to her thanking me for letting her stay here and asking you if she could come. Which is when I corrected her and told her that I didn't ask, that you did it all by your bighearted lonesome. And now we get to her question."

I took a deep breath and looked at John. In the loudest voice I could muster, which just so happened to be a whisper I asked, "Why?"

"Why what?' he responded, slightly confused.

"Why did you take me in? Knowing nothing at all about me. I mean, I'm very grateful for everything that you've done for me and Kenny. I just, I don't understand what you're getting out of this whole, arrangement. You don't have to answer if you don't want to," I said quickly.

John chuckled softly, "I didn't do it for me, if that's what you're wondering. I did it because that day when I first met the both of you, you were honest with me. You told me about them cutting Priceless. And I could see how protective she was over you. I knew that she would always worry about you. So when she said that Ted was bringing you with him, it just felt like the right thing to do. You being here would help her but it would also get you away from them as well."

I jumped from my bed and tackled him on the floor, "Thank you," I whispered.

He sat us back up and hugged me back before pulling Kenny down from her perch in the chair. We sat in his lap and for the first time in a very, very long time I just felt safe.

"My girls," he said softly and I nodded in agreement.

**Kendall's POV**

I yawned as I wrapped my orange towel tightly around my body. It'd been a wedding gift from Tiny. She'd had my name stitched into it and Johnny had a matching one. My hair was dripping water on the floor was I walked from the bathroom through the bedroom to Johnny's closet and pulled out a t-shirt to wear to bed. Just as I was pulling it over my head, he joined me in the closet.

"Is that my towel too?" he asked cheekily.

"No, this one is mine. See?" I said, showing him the stitching, "It says 'Kendall Grace Cena' not 'John I have fifty-seven middle names Cena'."

"Ha ha. You're so funny, Priceless. I only have two middle names and our kids will have two middle names too," he responded.

I grimaced. There was that word again. Well, those words. _Our kids._ I'm not having kids. And not just because it's John Cena. I'm not having kids with anyone. I don't care who the father is. I'm not going to put any child through what I went through. And, since it is John, he's already hit me, there is no way I'm going to give him a child to hit as well. No, I'm not doing that to an innocent baby.

"What? What's with that face?" he asked.

"It's just, I don't know. I don't really-"

"You don't want kids," he stated simply, his voice firm.

"No, not really," I confirmed quietly.

"I think you already know that I don't care," he said with a smirk.

"I know," I sighed and walked out of the closet.

He could try all he wanted. He could sleep with me all he wanted. But until I take this IUD out, I'm not getting pregnant. And it's not like he can find out. And I sure as hell am not telling him. I know Randy wont tell him, especially with him trying to gain my trust back. And Tasha, well she'll always be on my side.

I climbed into the large bed and Johnny joined me seconds later. I decided to changed the subject, "Thank you for talking with Tiny. It meant a lot to her. And it meant a lot to me. I know you don't care very much, but it really meant a lot."

"Prove it to me."

"What?"

"Prove how much it means. Prove to me how thankful you really are that she's here. Show me that you're grateful and that I didn't do this for nothing," he said.

"How?"

"Have a baby with me. Have my baby."

"John, please. I don't want to have kids," I said as I sat up in bed.

"If we don't have one then she goes back. If you don't give me the baby that I want, Tiny goes back to Mississippi," he said angrily.

"You can't do this. You can't use that against me. What if I can't have kids? What if you and I aren't able to have kids? Then what?" I asked, my eyes filling with tears.

"Then that's different. We can check these things out. But right now, you are blatantly refusing to have kids with me. It's not like it really matters though because I'm not going to use a condom and you aren't on birth control, so it's only a matter of time before you get pregnant," he said.

"And if I don't? What then?"

"Then we go to the doctor and figure out what's wrong. If we biologically can't have kids, then we'll adopt. It's not like they'll say no to us. We have a ton of money, a huge house, and you're going to be a stay at home mom," he told me, already planning out our future.

"John, you realize that they look into people's backgrounds. They're going to look into our families history. Police records, background checks, medical records, bank statements. Everything that is on any kind of file will be available for them to look at. They'll ask what you do for a living, what our parents do. We can't lie to them," I said, making up excuses.

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there," John shrugged.

I sighed and laid back down on my side, my back facing him. I didn't want him to see my face. I was too tired to mask the emotions I was feeling at the moment. A mixture of panic, fear, and relief crashed through my body all at once and made it hard for me to breath. I wanted to tell him, only because I didn't want to face the consequences of him finding out from someone else. But I didn't want to tell him because I was no way near ready to be a mother. I don't want kids. I haven't wanted kids. I wasn't like normal little girls growing up, the ones who dreamed about what they'd name their future sons and daughters. I didn't do that because I didn't want them.

"I'm not ready," I whispered, my last excuse for him to maybe give me some time.

"Not ready for what Priceless?" he asked.

"A family," I responded, "I mean, we've only just gotten married. Shouldn't we be enjoying out time together and not worry about kids getting in our way. And not just that, but I'm only 23. I don't want kids yet. I want to grow up and have more experience before I bring children into this hell we call a life. I want to be able to prepare not only my body but my mind as well. If we have kids, I don't want to treat them the way I was treated. I don't want to resent any of them. I want to love them all equally."

"How long?"

I rolled over and faced him, "How long what?"

"How long do you think you'll need?" he asked.

"I don't know. I've never wanted kids, Johnny. Now, I don't really have a choice. But I don't want you to be always angry with me because of it. I'm sorry that I'm not what you want," I said.

"Let me know when you're ready," he reassuringly smiled, "On Monday, we are leaving for our Honeymoon."

"Um, since when did we plan a Honeymoon, honey?" I asked.

"I planned it when I planned the wedding. I just didn't tell you about it until now," he told me.

"What about Tiny? And I need to pack! Oh gosh, what kinds of clothes do I need to pack? We can't just leave Tiny here by herself. I mean, I know she's 17 and everything, but she has school and work and homework. And she'll have to eat and I don't want her to be staying in this big house all by her self. And-"

"And, Eve is coming on Sunday night to stay with her until we get back next Sunday," he interrupted my rambling.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Seriously."


	13. Chapter 13

_One Month Later_

**Kendall's POV**

"Tiny! Get up!" Johnny yelled from the top of the basement stairs.

I laughed when I heard a slightly muffled, "Fuck you!"

"Tasha Ann, don't talk to me like that," he yelled back.

I tried for about an hour to get her up for school, but she is adamant that she is skipping today. I personally think it's because she's suppose to give a speech today and doesn't want to.

"Come on, Tiny Dancer. It's your last day before Christmas vacation and we have a surprise for you when you get home," he bribed her.

"We do?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Yeah, I just haven't told you yet because I knew you'd let it slip to her what we were doing," he told me with a smirk on his face.

"What's the surprise?" Tiny asked as she bounded up the stairs towards us.

"Well I can't tell you that, then it wouldn't be a surprise, silly," John teased.

"Oh come on. Kenny will you tell me?" she smiled at me, batting her eyes.

"John wanna take this one too?"

"I didn't tell her because she can't keep secrets," he told her.

"That's what you think," she muttered. I shot her a glare but thankfully he didn't seem to notice anything.

"I already made breakfast. I have some errands to run this morning and Johnny has to work until later, but I should be back by the time you get home from school," I told her as we walked into the kitchen.

I grabbed my purse and went over to the key hook, "Johnny where are the keys to the charger?"

"Oh, Marc is borrowing it for the day. He's going to check it out and what not, maybe upgrade it a bit. Take the orange H3 for the day, it's out front right now," he answered.

"Alright. I'll be back later. Have a good day at school and work," I said and walked out the door.

I took a deep breath when I got in the large vehicle and drove away from the safety of my home. It wasn't the first time I left the house but it was the first time I lied about where I was going. I wasn't running errands, hell I don't have any errands to run. No, I had a doctor appointment. I was going to do the one thing I'd always said I'd never do. I was getting the IUD taken out.

John hasn't asked me if I was ready yet or anything, but he has been using condoms. I'm not ready for kids yet, but if I were to get pregnant I'm going to be prepared for it. I also know that I can't wait too long because I will not allow him to send Tasha back to Mississippi. I can't let her go back to that.

**John's POV**

I knew that Priceless was lying to me, I just didn't know what she was lying about. So I had my cousin Marc follow her, that's why I told her to take the H3, it'd be easier for him to keep track of her. When he called me and told me she was going to an OB-GYN I wanted to be happy, thinking that maybe she was going to look into getting fertility drugs or something.

But then I thought about how stupid that made me sound. If she were going to get fertility drugs, she'd have told me that she was ready to have kids. So then I was thinking, well maybe it's just a routine check-up. But she had one of those, or so she said, a couple weeks ago. I know that I shouldn't jump to conclusions, but there has to be some reason that she's going to- unless she thinks she's pregnant. That is a possibility, although they could have found out at her earlier appointment.

My phone rang again as Marc called with more information, "What is she there for?" I asked impatiently.

"_You're not going to like it,"_ he answered right away.

"Marc, what is she there for?" I repeated.

"_She's getting an IUD taken out,"_ he said.

"This may sound stupid, but what the hell is an IUD?"

"_It's a form of birth control, John. It's inserted into the uterus and somehow it prevents sperm from getting to eggs,"_ he explained.

"No. You must have heard wrong. She said she wasn't on birth control," I told him.

"_Then she lied to you because I made them check like three times. Her records say she's had it since she was 17 or 18. It works for about 12 years or something like that. But they said that her reasoning for getting it taken out was that she recently got married and was thinking about starting a family, so that's good news I guess,"_ Marc said.

I just hung up the phone. Pissed didn't even begin to explain how I was feeling right now. I called my dad and told him I was going to take the rest of the day off and drove home, the whole way thinking of a way to punish my lying wife.

When I pulled up to the house I saw that the H3 she'd driven was parked out front of the house. I parked behind it and walked inside to the kitchen, scaring her a bit.

"You're home early," she commented.

I was about to answer when my phone started ringing, "Sit," I commanded before answering and she nodded before obeying.

"What is it?" I asked impatiently.

"_I don't mean to bother you, John. It's just that, I thought you'd want to know a few things,"_ a voice I recognized as Hunter's now ex-wife's.

"Go on."

"_Well, he called me today asking for money. I didn't give him any, but I thought you'd want to know that he was in contact," _she told me.

"Did he say where he was? A place to send it or anything?" I interrogated.

"No, I told him I wouldn't as soon as he asked," she replied.

"Alright, thanks Steph. Is that all?"

"_No, there's more. But I don't think you'll like it,"_ she warned.

"Just tell me," I prodded.

"_I don't know if you knew this but I work for a doctor's office. And I think I saw Kendall in there today,"_ she said slowly.

"I already know about that. Actually, I was just about to deal with that issue. But thank you for informing me. If you need anything, especially after everything Hunter has done feel free to contact me," I replied before hanging up the phone.

All of the pent up frustration I'd been holding in needed an outlet as I threw my phone across the kitchen. It hit the refrigerator, shattering into pieces and making Priceless jump. When I looked at her, I knew she could tell that something was wrong, that I was angry for some reason but she couldn't quite figure it out.

"Who was that?" she asked softly.

"That was Hunter's ex-wife," I answered honestly, not that she deserved any kind of honesty from me, "He contacted her today."

Her eyes widened in fear as she realized what I was saying, "Is he back?"

"I don't know. He only called her asking for money, but she told him no," I explained, "She also wanted to tell me that she thought she saw you today."

"Oh? Where?" Priceless asked innocently.

"At her place of employment."

She laughed slightly, "That's not helpful, Johnny. Where does she work?"

"At a doctor's office." She stopped laughing and her face got serious, almost fearful. "Marc also said he saw you at a doctor's office today," I went on to explain, "Which is kind of funny because you told me that you were running errands this morning."

"A doctor's appointment falls under the category of errand," she said simply.

"Not when you're going to a damn OB-GYN to get your IUD taken out," I yelled, "You told me you weren't on birth control. You lied to me!"

"No, I didn't lie. I told you I wasn't on the pill. An IUD isn't a pill. I just didn't tell you that part. I don't know why it matters now though. I got it taken out so that you can have the kids that you want," she told me.

"I don't want to have kids with a lying bitch," I shouted.

"Well I don't want to have kids with an abusive possessive asshole, but I just had my birth control taken out for you," she shouted back, "You're the one who said that you wanted kids. I just made it possible. I was going to leave it in and never tell you about it."

She stood up from stool I'd demanded her to sit in and walked out of the kitchen. I smirked to myself when she couldn't see me. This was exactly what I wanted. She didn't try to make any excuses for herself and she stood up for herself. And she told me what she had planned on doing.

I followed her, my thoughts going in a different direction now, "So, does this mean you're ready to have kids?"

She scoffed at me, "Hell no. I already told you I don't want kids."

I watched as she flopped down on the couch in the living room and turned the TV on with the remote. Standing in front of her and blocking her view, I took my shirt off. She looked up at me, wondering what I was doing.

"Let's start trying now," I said, my voice heavy with lust.

I lowered myself onto her, swinging her legs around so that she was laying on the couch, and pressed my lips against hers, softly at first. Gradually, I deepened the kiss until she willingly parted her lips and my tongue filled her mouth. My hands felt their way under her shirt, sliding up her body and bringing her shirt up with them.

I broke the kiss, only to take the worthless material off. Priceless brought her hands around my neck and dragged her nails down my back, causing a growl to escape from low in my throat. She pulled away for some much needed air so I attacked her neck and the rest of her exposed skin.

I kissed what wasn't covered by her bra and she arched up into me. Taking the opportunity, I reached around behind her to unclasp her bra and take it off. She grabbed my neck again and pulled my face down to hers, capturing my lips as I tweaked her nipples with my fingers.

"Oh my God! Stop!" a voice yelled, causing me to break the kiss as Priceless shrieked, "Do you have to have sex in the living room? I have friends in the kitchen, I'm pretty sure I told you that I was bringing people over today."

I groaned as Tasha finished her rant, "Damn it. Sorry, Tiny I didn't realize what time it was." I looked down, as I was still laying on top of Priceless who was trying to cover her face and her chest at the same time. I laughed at the sight and handed her back her clothes. "We'll be right there. Just let us settle down."

"I don't need to settle down," Priceless said, as she put her bra and shirt back on and pushed me off of her, "Get off me ya big oaf. I need to go meet my favorite nieces friends."

I sighed and sat up on the couch, letting her stand up, "We need to talk later. I'll be in in a minute."

**Tasha's POV**

"Tiny, I'm so sorry. That will never happen again," Kenny whispered as we walked slowly to the kitchen.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

She looked at me with a sad face but didn't answer. I knew right then that he found out. I wasn't sure how he did and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. We walked into the kitchen where my friends were waiting.

"Guys, this is my aunt Kendall, you can just call her Kenny, I do. Her husband John should be here in a few minutes," I introduced, "Ken this is Maddie, Tyler, Kelsey, Kyle, and Jake. I eat lunch with them and they're in a few of my classes too."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," she smiled, ever the gracious host, "Are you guys hungry or anything? I could make something really, if you'd like."

We nodded our thanks and she busied herself while we talked about what we were doing on our breaks.

"My family is staying home for Christmas," Maddie sighed sadly.

"We are going to Italy. We have family there, it's an annual thing," Kelsey told us happily.

"I think Kyle and I are road tripping to Mississippi," Tyler announced.

Kenny and I almost choked, "Why?" we asked at the same time.

"Well, I have family there. And my parents are flying but I don't want to fly and they said I had to bring a friend with me if I wanted to drive," Kyle explained, "Are you going back home for Christmas?"

"Hell no," we answered at the same time again.

"Okay, you two really need to stop doing that," John commented as he walked into the kitchen, "John Cena," he added as he shook Kyle, Jake, and Tyler's hands.

"I'm making snacks. You wanna help?" she asked him. He gave her a look that said he'd rather interrogate the boys but she sent him one back that told him to leave them alone and I laughed but quickly stopped when they both sent me a look that said shut up.

"So, Tasha, what are you doing for Christmas break?" Jake asked with a hopeful tone to his voice. He was staying home as well and had been flirting with me for the past month. It wasn't that I didn't like him. I mean, he was tall, standing around 6 foot and had dark brown hair and he was extremely gorgeous with dark brown eyes. But the one thing holding me back was my past. I didn't want him to find out about what Brett had done to me. I mean, I was 15 when he first started having sex with me and he was 21, which makes that illegal. That and I really didn't want to rush into a relationship right now. I just want to focus on school.

"Actually, that's part of the surprise I was telling you about this morning Tiny," John answered for me.

"Oh really?" Kenny and I asked at the same time, again. We looked at each other and started laughing.

"Yes, really. I booked us a two week cruise around the Caribbean," he said simply.

Kendall and I, along with my friends, stared at him with our jaws on the floor. He acted as if what he'd just said was no big deal. I'd never been on a cruise before in my life, heck I'd never been on vacation before in my life. And to be on a cruise, for two weeks. Oh my goodness.

"Um, Johnny. When are we leaving?" Kenny asked, sounding a bit nervous.

"Tonight."

We looked at each other and screamed.


	14. Chapter 14

**John's POV**

The girls spent the rest of the afternoon running around the house trying to get themselves packed. Priceless also packed my stuff; she claimed she didn't trust me enough to 'pack appropriate cruise attire'. I let her have her fun. They'd never been on a cruise before and I knew that it was the perfect Christmas gift for them.

But now we were getting on the plane to Florida, where we will board the boat, not tomorrow, but the next day. I haven't told them yet, but tomorrow we'll be spending the day around Florida, just shopping.

"You girls should sleep," I told them as we slipped into our seats.

"But I'm not tired," Tasha whined.

"Yes, but we have a long day tomorrow. And it's going to be late when we get in-"

"Yeah, so we'll be grumpy if you have to wake us up before we're ready," Priceless reasoned.

"Fine," I relented.

The rest of the ride was pretty boring, as was collecting our luggage and checking into the hotel. Tiny was given her own room, per her request, not wanting to interrupt our 'newlywed time', as she called it, again. I had rolled my eyes when she said that because I wasn't in the mood to have any 'newlywed time' tonight.

I wanted to talk to Kendall about why she felt the need to lie to me. Earlier, I let it go, mainly because I was excited that she was giving in to me and giving me kids. I knew that once she had them, she'd feel bad about not wanting them to begin with; it was just a matter of getting her pregnant. Now, to find out that she wouldn't have gotten pregnant anyway, well that just pissed me off.

"Good night, John. Thank you for doing this," Tiny said as we walked her to her room. She hugged me tightly before giving Priceless the same treatment, "Good night Kenny. I love you."

"Love you too Tiny," Priceless responded, hugging her back and kissing the top of her head, "We'll see you in the morning. Don't unpack everything."

I winked at her and pulled Priceless down the hall towards our room. When we entered, I heard her gasp at the large room. I'd asked for the largest bed they had, because I wanted to feel like we were in our bed at home, which was huge. And even still, we either lay in the middle or to one side.

"Johnny, this is too much," she whispered.

"I'm thinking so too. Especially after this morning," I replied.

I walked past her, dropping our suitcases on the floor before grabbing a beer out of the mini-fridge. When I looked back at her, she hadn't moved from the spot by the door. I let out an annoyed sigh, walked back to the door and shoved her out of the way so that I could close it. She caught herself before falling the floor, but she sat down, leaning against a wall and drew her legs up against her chest.

"Yeah, I'm not over that. You didn't get off that easily," I reminded her.

"If I remember correctly, we didn't get off at all," she muttered.

"Kendall, I'm really mad at you right now, so your snide comments aren't going to help you at all," I growled.

She looked up at me with wide eyes at that. I rarely, if ever, called her Kendall. I always called her Priceless. She knew how serious I was, just by that little change in character.

"Johnny, I'm sorry-"

"No, Kendall, you're not sorry. You always tell me not to apologize for things when you know that I'll do it again. Well, if you had the chance to do this again, we both know you would. We both know you'd lie about being on birth control because you admitted to it earlier. So don't tell me you're sorry," I countered.

"I didn't like about being on birth control, John. I told you that I wasn't on the pill," she tried to reason.

I glared at her, "You didn't tell me the truth. You let me believe that I could have gotten you pregnant at any moment when in reality, I couldn't have. How fair is that?'

"How fair is it that you're forcing me to have children?" she shouted.

"I'm not forcing you; I'm giving you an ultimatum. There's difference. If I were forcing you, I'd be raping you. But you willing have sex with me. I think our little moment on the couch proved that," I pointed out.

"But you're giving me an ultimatum that involves the safety of another human being. A human being that you brought here to be with us. A human being that you gave a happier life. Why would you make it my decision to send her home over something I want?" she asked.

"Because I know that you don't live your life for yourself and you'll do anything for the people you love," I shrugged.

Priceless scoffed, "I don't love you."

"No, but you love Tasha."

She didn't say anything, only looked away from me. I shook my head at her and changed into my boxers before crawling into the bed. For a while I thought she was going to fall asleep there, until I heard her sniffing softly and I knew that she was crying. She stood up, walked to her suitcase, then to the bathroom. When I heard the shower running, I knew that she was trying to calm herself down because she had literally taken a shower ten minutes before we walked out of our house. I pulled down the covers on the bed, waiting for her to join me but when she did, she stayed on the opposite side of the bed.

"What are you doing over there?" I asked her.

"Thinking," she answered.

"Thinking about what?"

**Kendall's POV**

I turned over to face him, making sure to stay on my side of the bed, "Why should I give you what you want?"

The look on his face was total shock. He hadn't expected that. Then it went to anger, "Because I'm your husband. Because I work my ass off every day to give you that house you live in. Because I work my ass off every day so that I can give you everything that you want. And you want to know why you should give me what I want? You should give me what I want because I said so, damn it."

"I didn't ask for any of this John. I didn't want any of this. I didn't want to be married at 23. I want to have freedom, I want to have friends, and I want to go to work. But I can't do any of those things because of my family. Because my family gave me to the lowest bidder, who probably has more money than they do. Because my family didn't show up to my wedding. Because your family doesn't need me to work because you have more than enough money. Because you don't want me to work so that I can take care of your house. I don't want this," I vented.

"Then why are you still here?" he shouted, "Why did you agree to get married? I gave you the option to go back and you stayed. I told you my expectations and now you're fighting me on them. Make up you're damn mind, Kendall."

"I agreed to get married because I have nothing to go back to. If I go back they'll nearly kill me. Your expectations never included having kids. You may be old and ready to have kids already, but I'm not. I want to experience life," I told him.

"We basically have a child with Tiny around. We wake her up in the morning, we get her ready for school, we make her meals, we help with her homework, we send her to bed on time, and then we do it all over again the next morning," he said.

"Tasha is a grown woman, John. She's almost an adult. You're talking about having a baby. That's getting up in the middle of the night because it's crying. That's feeding it, changing its diaper, comforting it. And that is only if there isn't anything wrong with it. Then, when it gets older there is the messes that will need to be cleaned and the chasing that will need to be done and the timeouts that will have to be put in place when it does something wrong. You don't have patience for all of that John. I don't want to raise a child, not yet, and definitely not in this environment," I argued.

"Don't you think I know that? I know all of the things it takes to raise a child. I'm 34 years old, Kendall and I want to start a family now," he informed me.

"Yes, well I'm 23 years old. I want to live now."

"I don't care. We are going to have kids together and that's final. If you're not pregnant in one year, I won't give Tiny a job and I won't help her out with college," he told me.

"John, that's not fair. What if I physically can't get pregnant?"

"We'll go to a doctor before I tell her. We'll get checked, both of us. If it's something that is physically impossible, and not medically, then I'll see exception. But if you're still on birth control, of any kind, and that's the reason we aren't getting pregnant, then she's gone. Understand?" he said.

I only nodded. There was nothing more I could say. There was nothing I could do, except be the 'good wife' he wanted, especially after he threw Tasha in the mix. I couldn't punish her for something I didn't want to do. I turned away from him, not wanting to be near him right now but also feeling weird because since the night I moved in with him we hadn't spent one night not close to each other in bed. It didn't take long for that weird feeling to go away especially when I felt the bed shift and John moved over.

His arm wrapped around my waist and rolled me onto my back. When I tried to turn away once again, he draped his leg around one of mine, holding me in place. John buried his face in the nook between my shoulder and neck, his breath sending shivers down my spine. I knew when he'd fallen asleep because his breathing evened out and his grip loosened slightly.

I sighed, willing myself to sleep but there was so much going on in my mind that it was nearly impossible. As I stared up at the ceiling, I thought of all the possible ways I could get out of this, but all of them ended with Tiny losing all of the opportunities John can give her. That wasn't something I could live with. I felt tears prick my eyes as I realized that there was no way to get around this. John is going to get me pregnant and I can't stop him.

**Tasha's POV**

Banging. Why do I always seem to wake up to someone yelling at me or banging on the door? I mean, seriously, I'm supposed to be on vacation. Can't they let me sleep in for once?

"Tiny, wake up! It's John," a voice called through the door, "I brought coffee and bagels," he sang.

I giggled and jumped out of bed right away. He always knew that I'd get up for coffee and bagels, as long as he got the right kind.

"Whadya get me?" I asked before opening the door.

"Toffee nut mocha with extra whip cream. And a cinnamon sugar bagel with pecan cream cheese," he answered. I swung the door open the door to let him in and looked for Kenny to join us, "She's still sleeping. I don't think she got much sleep last night."

"Ew, I got my own room so that I didn't have to hear about your sexcapades. I don't want to hear about them the morning after," I told him.

He chuckled softly before handing me a coffee and sitting down in a chair, "I didn't mean like that. We got in an argument last night and were up late because of it. When we finally came to an agreement of sorts, she didn't fall asleep right away."

"I see," I answered, "Can I ask what kind of argument?"

"Well, I kind of wanted to talk to you first, if you don't mind," he started, when I nodded he continued, "I just want you to know that, no matter what happens with Priceless and me, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable about coming to me for anything. I want you to be able to ask me for anything. I know that you have issues with that just like Priceless does, and I don't pretend to understand that. I just want you to know that I won't do to you what her family did to you."

"But you did to her what her family did to her," I said quietly, "You hit her. Are you going to hit me?"

"No, I will never hit you, Tasha. I promise," he said, his voice and eyes showing sincerity I've never seen before.

"John, do you like Kenny?" I asked suddenly.

He looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you obviously like her body. But do you like her as a person? If you didn't know her already, could you have fallen in love with her?" I explained further.

"I don't know," he answered, "I do like her, as a person. And obviously I do like her body. But I don't know if I'd fall in love with her."

"Why not? I mean, is she not the kind of girl that you go for?"

"It's nothing like that. It's just, Priceless is high maintenance," John told me.

I scoffed, "Are we talking about the same girl? Kendall isn't high maintenance at all. She would be perfectly fine with absolutely nothing. She would be perfectly happy if you had nothing to your name as long as you loved her and cared for her properly."

"So you're saying she's not happy with me?" he asked.

"I never said that, John," I responded, "Anyway, what was your argument about?"

"Having kids."

"Kenny isn't going to have kids," I shrugged confidently.

He smiled with even more confidence, "Yeah she is."

"How can you be so sure? I've known her my whole life and I know for a fact that she doesn't want kids," I told him.

"I talked her into it," he replied and I gave him a look, "Fine, it comes down to the fact that I'm her husband and she'll do whatever I ask to make me happy."

"Does her happiness matter to you at all?" I asked

"She'll be happy. She'll realize how stupid she is by not wanting kids right now and she'll be happy," he said as if that made everything better.

"Not John, you don't get it. She won't be happy because she doesn't want to be her parents. She doesn't want to turn her children into monsters and end up hating the only one who isn't a monster," I told him.

"That's the difference. Our children won't be monsters because Priceless and I aren't monsters. She's already agreed to it Tiny," John told me.

I looked at him, dumbfounded. She'd agreed to it. Kendall had agreed to have kids. Something happened. There was no way she just agreed to have kids with him, not willingly. But what could he have used against her? He doesn't have anything on her that she wouldn't want to give up-

"No."

"No what?" he asked me.

"Send me home. Send me back to Mississippi," I insisted.

"Why?"

"Because I'm not going to be a pawn. I'm not going to let you use me in order to get what you want. So send me home," I told him.

"That would only make Priceless upset. I'm not going to send you home, Tiny. Not just for her, but for your safety as well. I can't let you go back to what they did," he told me.

"Then what are you holding over her head? I know it's about me," I said.

"It's not important because she's already agreed to do her duty as my wife," John replied.

"You do realize that she is only 23 years old, right? She isn't in ready to have kids right now. Were you ready to have kids when you were 23?" I asked.

"I wasn't married when I was 23," he shrugged.

I shook my head. This was definitely putting a damper on the beginning of my vacation. I had been looking forward to going on this cruise, but now I wanted to apologize to Kenny. She's done so much for me and now she was sacrificing even more. I didn't know how or if I'd ever be able to repay her for everything she's done and is going to do.

"Anyway, on a different subject. Our cruise doesn't leave until tomorrow-"

"Then why did you have us rushing around yesterday?" I interrupted.

"Because I thought you and Priceless would like to go on a shopping spree around Florida today. Where ever you wanna go, we'll go. It's just another part of your Christmas present," he smiled.

His smile didn't make me feel any better. In fact, it only made me feel worse. John was spending money on me that I didn't want him to spend. I didn't want him to spend it because it came at the expense of Kenny. She was going to have to suffer for me to stay here and there was no way she would even think about asking me to leave. I could only hope that when I got some time alone with her she would tell me something encouraging. I could only hope that she would tell me something that would make me feel like it wasn't my fault she would have to have kids.


	15. Chapter 15

**Tasha's POV**

I watched as Kenny stood on the deck of the boat, staring over the water. She looked as if she was mesmerized by its beauty. I was mesmerized by her beauty. She was oblivious to it, but I always wanted to be as pretty as she was. Instead, I got stuck with brown hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. Some woman could pull it off, but I always felt bland. But Kendall, she had blonde hair and the rarest grey eyes I've ever seen. Her whole family had light blue eyes, but she'd inherited grey ones. And her skin was a naturally tan colored. She was long and skinny where I was tall and had what I considered too much meat on me.

She looked content, an emotion I hadn't seen in her before. A part of me wondered if it was because of John and the kindness he's shown her. Or simply just because she's away from all the beatings. No matter the reason, it was a good sight to see. It was nice to see her relaxing. I walked up to her, leaning next to her against the railing.

"It's beautiful out her, yeah?" she commented.

"Kenny, are you gonna be mad at me now?" I asked quietly.

She turned slightly, looking in my eyes, "He told you."

"No, I guessed. I knew that you wouldn't have kids unless he forced you. I knew that there had to be a reason you agreed and I realized that I was the only thing he could have held over your head," I explained.

"Tiny, I would do anything for you to be safe. I don't care what it is. I would risk my life for you to be safe. So if this is what it takes, if having a baby is what keeps you safe and happy and close to me, then I'm going to do it," she assured me.

I nodded and turned to look out at the sun setting in the distance. If I didn't know any better I would've thought that the water went on forever. Suddenly, I felt Kenny tense next to me and move closer to me. I was confused until I heard someone speak.

"What are two beautiful ladies such as yourselves doing out here all alone?"

Kenny stood in front of me, either blocking him from my view or me from his, "Just enjoying the sun set."

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the man asked, "Phil Brooks."

"Kendall," she paused before using my last name, less recognizable, "Baretta."

"And you're friend?"

I shivered as he acknowledged me. Kenny grabbed for my hand before answering, "My niece, Tasha Baretta."

Now, I had a clear view of him. He was probably as tall as John, but definitely not as built. His hair was slicked back with either grease or too much gel. And his arms were heavily tattooed. This guy was eyeing both of us in a way that made me feel uncomfortable and I edged closer to Kendall. She felt my tension, as I felt hers, and squeezed my hand.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," he responded, "Are you alone?"

"Actually, we should get going now," Kenny replied, ignoring his question.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you around," he said with a smile that creeped me out even more than before.

Kendall practically pulled my arm out of my socket as she walked as fast as she could away from Phil. Something was wrong, something she wasn't telling me. We practically ran back to her and John's quarters, bursting through the doors and scaring him.

"What the hell is your problem, women?" he all but shouted.

"What is Punks real name?" she asked hurriedly.

"What do you mean?"

"What is his real name? I know it's not Punk. He has to have a name. What is it?" she demanded.

"Phil Brooks."

Our eyes widened simultaneously, "He's on the boat, John," she whispered.

"Who is on the boat?"

"Punk is on the boat," I said.

"How do you know? Can you just tell me what the hell happened? Like in a full story? Because only getting bits and pieces is really annoying," he told us.

"We were on the top deck and we were watching the sunset when he approached us. He asked us our name but I told him that our last name was Baretta. I was suspicious of him right away, he looked exactly the way Eve saw him," Kendall explained.

"Did he say what he wanted?" he asked us.

"No. He only asked if we were alone. But Kenny didn't answer," I finished.

"He didn't try to touch you? Or anything like that?" John checked.

"No," Ken assured, "He asked what we were doing alone. Asked our names. Asked if we were on the boat alone. I told him we were watching the sunset, that we were Kendall and Tasha Baretta, innocent aunt and niece duo. I ignored his question about being alone."

"You're getting rather good at lying, Priceless," John commented.

I watched her cheeks flush with embarrassment, not wanting to watch him degrade her I spoke up, "I think that in this instance, lying was the right thing to do John."

They both looked at me, at first in shock as if they couldn't believe I had stopped an argument. Then Kendall mouthed a thank you to me and John replied, "You're right, Tiny. It was the right thing."

"So what are we going to do?" Kendall asked softly.

"You aren't going to do anything," John snapped, "It's getting late. I'll walk you to your room, Tiny. I know its right next door, but for safety purposes."

I nodded, not wanting to receive the same treatment he was giving Kenny. I knew that he told me before he wouldn't hurt me; but honestly, he scared me when he got angry. Giving Kenny a quick hug goodnight, I walked out of the room with John as my escort.

When we got to my room, which was literally right next to John and Kendall's, he finally spoke to me, "You're upset with me."

"You're really mean to her. Even if she hasn't done anything wrong, you get angry with her," I said quietly, "She lied to him so that he wouldn't hurt us and you got angry with her. She protected us and you basically told her that it was bad."

He looked at me for a minute as if he was unsure of how to respond.

"I'm angry with her still," he said simply.

I nodded, understanding that he was ending the conversation, "Good night John."

**John's POV**

Before going back to Priceless, I made a couple phone calls. Which was rather difficult seeing that we were in the middle of the ocean. The first was to Vince, telling him what was going on, not that I knew anything. The second one was to my youngest brother Sean, telling him to fly his ass to where ever it was we were going to be next.

When I walked back into our room, I found her lying on her stomach on the bed. Her eyes were open, but she wasn't paying attention to what was going on. She hadn't even noticed that I walked in the room. I used her current state to my advantage as I took my shoes off and eased myself on the bed. She went to turn over when she felt the bed shift but I was already holding her wrists down.

"John, what are you doing?" she asked.

I smirked at the panic in her voice as I nipped at the back of her neck, "Enjoying time with my wife. Is that a crime?"

She moaned softly when I placed a gentle open mouthed kiss just below her ear. With my knees, I slide the bottom of her sundress up her body until I could reach it with my hands. I released her wrists, knowing that she wasn't going anywhere and pulled down her underwear slowly. Her body was already tense, waiting for me to decide how I was going to tease her.

"Johnny," she moaned breathlessly.

I dragged my fingers up the inside of her thighs slowly, her impatience growing. She wriggled down when I got close to her soft folds, craving entrance but I retracted my hand. This was going to be done at my pace; it was always done at my pace. I started again, this time just barely touching her center before pushing my fingers in quickly. She gasped at the sudden contact, not expecting it so soon. I played with her, gently teasing her senses. She inhaled sharply and clenched her around my fingers, her juices spilling over them.

"Get up," I commanded.

She rolled over on the bed, looking at me with confused grey eyes. I motioned for her to get out of the bed and stand in front of me. When she did, I lifted the dress over her head leaving her naked in front of me. My eyes wandered over her body, loving everything about it. Her scars made her who she was.

I took my own shirt off and to my surprise; Kendall's hands met mine at my jeans. I looked up into her eyes and she smiled at me. I smiled back, pushing the pants along with my boxers to the ground and stepping out of them. Kissing her passionately, taking her back to the bed and pulling her down on top of me. I guided her over my hardened cock and she slowly suck down, making us both groan at the friction it caused.

"Priceless, you need to move," I groaned.

She sat up, smiling sheepishly down at me before rocking her hips back and forth slowly. When I couldn't take any more of that, I flipped us over, making sure we didn't break apart and put one of her legs over my shoulder before thrusting into her roughly. She started to scream as I hit her g-spot but I quickly swallowed it with a kiss. I angled her hips just right, so that every time I thrust into her I hit her spot, giving her relentless pleasure.

Starting to feel the familiar burning in my stomach and knew I was close. I reached in between Priceless and I to stroke her clit, wanting to feel her cum around me. She arched her back and I felt her whole body tense as I worked her out.

"Let it go, baby," I coaxed.

She finally screamed and her body fell limp underneath me as I pumped harder into her. The burning became unbearable and I smirked when I felt my seed spill inside of her. She sighed when I collapsed on top of her, kissing up and down my shoulder.

"That was a good start on our kids," I whispered.

**Kendall's POV**

Wrapping John's sweatshirt tighter around my body, I closed my eyes. The waves crashing against the side of the boat calming me. Even though, I knew I shouldn't be out here by myself, I needed to get away; I needed to be by myself. Being alone didn't make it any better though. If anything it made me think more about what he said and how used it made me feel.

John had never been more passionate than he was earlier. He had never touched me so carefully and never pleasured me so thoroughly. It was the most I've ever felt for him before, emotionally. Quite honestly, after tonight I could have fallen for him. Now, I feel empty again. I couldn't even bring myself to cry.

Weird, I never wanted to cry before. Crying showed that I had feelings. Crying showed that I cared about what they did to me. Now, I wanted to care that he hurt me. Did that mean this was the last straw? Did this mean someone had finally pushed me too far? Am I finally broken?

I kind of hope so. Mainly so that I didn't have to feel my heart break anymore. So I didn't have to hurt so bad every time I realized that I was, yet again, being forced into something I never wanted. I didn't want to feel the things I felt tonight, the happiness and the passion, only for him to make me feel so used afterwards.

"All alone again?" a voice broke me from my thoughts, but I didn't answer. I'd already programmed that voice in my brain. I didn't have to turn around to see his greasy hair or the tattoos that were drawn along his arms. I didn't have to turn around to see his dark eyes that didn't hide their demons, or maybe they did but I already knew too much about them to be fooled.

"Kendall was it?" he asked, as he walked closer leaning against the railing next to me.

"I should go," I said quietly.

"Don't let me run you off," he chuckled, grabbing my arm to stop me from walking away, "Stay and talk with me."

"It's late-"

"And you're already out past curfew, so stay," he interrupted, "Where are you from Miss Kendall Baretta? Or is it Kendall Cena?" My eyes grew wide at his revelation. He knew, but how did he know. Did John know that he knew? What the hell am I doing all alone with him? "I looked on the guest list and there is definitely a Tasha Baretta on board, but no Kendall Baretta. So, after a little investigative work, it turns out that not only is John Cena on the same cruise as I am, but his new wife is as well."

I stayed silent until his grip on my arm tightened, "Please let go," I asked.

"No."

I closed my eyes again. Knowing I was in trouble and not having a clue as to how to get out of it. I tensed when his arms circled my body and pulled me against his.

"Kendall?" I heard John call. Punk let go immediately, pushing me to the ground and running to hide somewhere. I looked up just as John reached me, "Priceless, what are you doing on the floor? What are you doing out here at all?"

"I just wanted. I needed to come out here. Thinking about stuff. I-"

"What's wrong?" he asked, sensing my nervousness.

I looked around the deck, squinting in the dark trying to see if he was still around before I ousted him, "Punk."

"See, this is why you're not supposed to go out by yourself. I told you that was why I didn't want Tiny going to her room by herself. Do you ever listen?" he asked angrily, pulling me back to our room.

I didn't answer, just listened to him as he yelled at me for not listening and for not following his orders. I wasn't in the mood to fight him on it. I didn't care anymore. I don't even know if I could care anymore. I was emotionally and physically drained.

The only thing that kept running through my mind was what John said to me after we had sex.

"_That was a good start on our kids."_


	16. Chapter 16

**I love you guys! You are the greatest readers ever! Literally, every review I get is such an inspiration for me! So thank you! This has been my best story yet, based on your reviews and the amount of views I've had! [:  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>John's POV<strong>

I slammed the door after, not so gently, leading Priceless inside. To put it simply, I was pissed.

"What the hell were you thinking, Kendall? Why would you go out in the middle of the night by yourself?" I asked.

She didn't answer; she didn't even look at me. She took my sweatshirt off, leaving her in a tank top and shorts, and climbed in the bed.

"Are you ignoring me now? Seriously? This is ridiculous. I wake up and you're gone. Then when I find you, the only thing you say is Punk," I paused, letting my brain work around what I just said, "Kendall did he touch you?"

"Not the way you're thinking," she answered quietly.

"But he did touch you?'

Priceless sighed, "He knows we're on the boat. He knows I lied to him and I don't think he's very happy about it. He grabbed my arm when I tried to walk away then he wrapped his arms around me like he was hugging me. You showed up before anything could happen."

"Explain something to me, because right now I'm having a really hard time understanding this," I began, "What possessed you to go out there by yourself? Knowing he was here?"

"I just wanted some fresh air, John," she said, her voice void of any emotion.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Sure. Now I'm tired and I don't feel well so I'd really like to go to sleep, so if you don't mind? Can you save your yelling for tomorrow when I'm more in the mood to hear them?" she asked.

"If you're going to be a moody bitch this whole trip I'm going to rethink ever planning another one," I told her.

She ignored me threats. So I shook my head and climbed in bed, pulling her close to me, letting my hand rest low on her waist.

"I'm definitely not in the mood for a round two tonight, John."

"Well, I wasn't planning on one Kendall. But I don't really think it's your decision," I growled, pulling her closer.

Her whole attitude was frustrating me. Who did she think she was? And what the hell was her issue? We were perfectly fine a few hours ago and now she's being a bitch. It's like she's hot and cold. I literally cannot win with this woman.

"Do I get to have a decision with anything?" she asked rhetorically.

"Yes, you get to pick what you make me for dinner," I shot back.

She went to get out of bed but I held her down to it. Her struggling subsided when she realized that I wasn't going to let her go and she retorted, "I really hate you right now. I just hope you know that."

"Kendall, you can hate me all you want, I honestly don't give a damn. You aren't here for your pleasure, you're here for mine. If you want to hate me, go right ahead. But the fact of the matter is that you are my wife, you will do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it. So if I tell you not to leave this damn room then don't leave the damn room," I barked.

"You are the most confusing person I've ever met in my whole entire life," she complained, "Before we were married you told me you wanted this marriage to be equal. As far as I can tell, it's been nothing but unequal. I don't know what you want John. So until you can give me a straight answer-"

"Are you trying to threaten me? Because you have nothing to threaten me with, Priceless. I have all control of the money. I have control of what your brothers hear about how our marriage is going. I have control of everything to do with Tasha. What are you going to take away from me?" I taunted, knowing full well there was nothing she could do.

She fell silent and I knew that the conversation was over. There was something different about her, something she wasn't telling me. My instinct told me that it had something to do with her run in with Punk, but my gut told me that I did something to upset her. And a part of me felt bad about that.

Yeah, she was quite a bit younger than me and I was probably taking advantage of her vulnerable state of mind. But it was the only way to get her to listen sometimes. Like tonight, when she just up and walked out without at least telling me where she went.

Shaking my head, refusing to let it bother me anymore tonight, I buried my head in her neck. My favorite part about being married was having someone to hold on to, the same person every night. I knew her sent and loved to fall asleep to it clinging to my senses. Not that I'd ever tell her that, of course. I placed one last lazy kiss on the back of her neck and pulled her even closer, smirking when she shivered against me.

**Kendall's POV**

I woke up the next morning with a headache from all of John's yelling. Or it could have been from my complete emptiness. I felt no emotion at all when he wrapped his arms around me; I didn't feel the jolt that I'd gotten used to any more. It was just gone. I wanted to get out of bed but John was practically lying on top of me.

I nudged him a couple times but when he finally moved, he rolled over so that he was literally lying on top of me. I was now lying on my stomach with John lying on his stomach on my back, and I couldn't breathe.

"John get off," I muffed, trying to elbow him as best I could, "John!"

"What?" he asked lazily, "Oh shit! Priceless, I'm sorry. Are you alright?" He rolled off me as soon as he realized I was squished underneath him and rolled me over.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured him before trying to get out of bed again.

"No, you're staying here today."

I gaped at him. "What the do you mean I'm staying here today?"

"Just what I said. You aren't leaving this room today, unless it's to go eat. I don't care what you say; I'm still pissed at you for just walking out last night. You should know better, Kendall."

Is he serious? What am I going to do here in this room all day?

"Oh, and Tiny and I need to pick my brother up from the airport once we get to shore. So you get to stay here all by yourself. No visitors," he told me with smile that said he was being an ass just because he felt like it.

I glared at him before getting out of bed, "I'm getting in the shower, unless that isn't allowed."

"Only if I can join you," he responded, raising his eye brows suggestively.

"I think I'll pass then," I said, keeping my glare.

"Too late, you've already put the idea in my head," he smirked as he picked me up and carried me to the bathroom, "Besides, it's not like we can't try for kids too much."

##

I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.

But the saddest part is that I don't. The saddest part is that I'm actually falling for John Felix Anthony Cena. I'm falling for him because he takes care of me. I'm falling for him because he takes care of Tasha. I'm falling for him because he protects us. I'm falling for him because he makes sure that we have everything that we need. I'm falling for him because he spoils us.

I hate him because I'm falling for him. I don't want to fall for him because I know it's not real. I know he doesn't love me. I know he'll never love me. Once he gets what he wants he'll kick me to the curb. I don't want to get too attached but I can already feel myself falling for him. I can feel myself giving him my heart and I can't stop it. He's going to take my heart and run with it. And there won't be a damn thing I can do about it.

Maybe if I do things to make him mean to me, then maybe I'll stop. Maybe I can kill any of what I feel for him before it actually comes to surface. Then it won't hurt so badly. Maybe I can stop now, stop giving him my heart and he can only break whatever he's managed to steal in the past month or so. Maybe-

A sudden knock at the door broke me from my thoughts. That didn't make any sense. Tiny and John wouldn't be back with Sean for another hour. Who would be at the door? Housekeeping already came earlier when we were eating breakfast.

I jumped as another round of more persistent knocks rang through the room. Not moving from the bed, I again went through a list of who it could be. Maybe it was just someone who had the wrong room. Yeah, that was probably it, I convinced myself as the knocking subsided.

Picking my book up, I tried to focus on the words and story of a young girl and her key necklace but my mind was starting to get tired and the next thing I hear is John's voice.

"Priceless, wake up. It's time for dinner," he said, gently shaking me awake.

His blue eyes were soft as he knelt at the edge of the bed. He smiled when he saw that I was awake, a smile I didn't return, a smile I couldn't return for fear that if I did my heart would be his. The look in his eyes told me he wanted to say something and his actions confirmed it when he stood up and looked towards the door.

"Guys, we'll meet you there in a few."

I didn't have to look up to know he was talking to Tiny and Sean. Now, that was a thought to smile about. Tiny and Sean. They were decently close in age and Sean didn't seem to have the same temper that John did. Maybe things could work out between the two of them. But, then I didn't want Tasha to have to deal with all of the things that go with the business her whole life. Me, I was stuck with it.

"Priceless, what's wrong?" John asked with sincerity in his voice as he moved me to sit up.

I shook my head and sighed, "Nothing is wrong."

"I don't believe you," he said.

"That wouldn't be the first time," I countered.

"Talking to me without biting my head off is greatly appreciated," he said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes and got off the bed, moving around the room to change for dinner. "John, nothing is wrong. I'm sorry that I'm tired. I didn't realize that I wasn't allowed to be."

"Okay, quite the bitch act Kendall. It's getting annoying," John all but yelled.

"Okay, you can quite yelling at me every time the conversation doesn't go your way John, it's getting annoying," I mocked him.

"If you want, you can spend another day in your room," he threatened.

Because apparently that's supposed to scare me. I rolled my eyes, "Whatever John. Treat me like a child, get your practice in."

I didn't even hear him walk up behind me, but I felt him turn me around and I felt the impact of the back of his hand against my cheek. The callous look in his eyes told me that he was done playing games. And the sting on my face told me to stop crossing the line. But I ignored it.

"If you ever hit our child like you hit me, I will leave you so fast you won't even know what hit you," I warned him.

He smirked at me as if I told a joke, "Sweetie, our children will know better than to smart mouth me. And if they do piss me off, I'll just take it out on their bitch of a mother." He patted me on the head before saying, "Where the grey dress, it looks better with your eyes." With that he walked out of the room to join the others for dinner.

**Tasha's POV**

"What do you think he wants to talk to her about?" Sean asked me.

We were sitting at our table waiting for John and Kenny. I sighed, remembering Kenny's attitude from this morning and how John's patience was running thin. I could only hope that she had settled down a bit while we were away.

"You never know. It's a roller coaster with them, that's for sure," I joked, causing him to laugh.

His blue eyes sparkled. It amazed me, how he and John both had blue eyes. Although, Sean's hair was quite a bit darker than John's and he wasn't as built. And he definitely was a lot kinder than John; well John was kind to me. I sighed again.

"What's wrong Tasha?" he asked, not hiding any sincerity in his voice.

The difference between him and Jake was that I didn't have to explain things to Sean. I didn't have to lie to him about why I was living with John and Kenny, I didn't have to hide what Brett did to me, and he didn't seem to look down on me for it either. I was afraid that when everyone found out they would do it too. John assured me otherwise though, and he's kept his promise to me.

"I'm just worried, I guess," I told him, not sure how to express my feelings, "I mean, I know that everything between John and Kenny was arranged and she knows that too. But sometimes he can be so sweet, that it's easy to forget. Then there are times when I sit back and think how can I just forget that she was forced to move here and marry a man she knows nothing about. And now, he's given her an ultimatum to have kids with her. And she agreed. And I don't know what in the world she's thinking because she's going to be miserable. She doesn't want kids, she's never wanted kids. And it's all my fault that she's going to have kids. And this trip is just terrible. And she is going to hate me forever. And I don't even-"

"Tasha, stop," he said firmly, snapping me out of my pity party, "Kenny isn't going to hate you. She loves you too much to hate you. That's why she's doing it, because she would honestly do anything to keep you safe. You are like a sister to her. And I know that this whole thing was forced but-"

"Hey guys, Priceless will be down in a minute," John interrupted as he joined our table, "She's just changing."

"Okay," I said with a smile before shooting Sean a look that told him to keep his mouth shut, "John, what are we going to do about Punk?"

"Don't worry about that, Tiny," John told me softly then smoothly changed the subject, "What are you guys thinking about having for dinner? This smoked salmon looks pretty good to me."

Sean gave me a questioning look and I just shrugged in response. "We hadn't really gotten a chance to look at the menu yet," Sean confessed.

"Too busy making googly eyes at one another,"John teased. I felt my face get hot and kicked John underneath the table. "What?" he asked innocently, "It's obvious that you two like each other."

I groaned and hid my face in my hands. Leave it to John to embarrass everyone around him. When will Kenny get here again?

As if on cue, I heard a chair being drawn out. I looked up just in time to see a very somber looking Kendall in the most stunning dress ever. It was also the one dress that she hated wearing the most. Her grey eyes were dolled up with silver eye shadow and dark lashes, but there was something missing. I couldn't tell exactly what it was. Her long hair was pulled over in a side pony, curls hanging down her shoulder. And the grey dress she wore, beautiful and elegant yet short and too tight for her liking.

"Sorry I'm late," she said quietly, so quietly I almost had to strain to hear her.

I looked at John, but he seemed completely unfazed by her presence. While Sean was completely speechless. I laughed at the look on his face, he looked awestruck. Moments like these, when I saw how much he appreciated how beautiful a woman was, made me realize how different he was from John. Looking back to Kenny I smiled at her but the smile she gave in return was empty.

"Kenny, are you okay?" I asked softly, not wanting to gain attention.

My efforts were in vain though because John looked up as soon as I said anything.

"I'm fine, Tiny."

"Are you sure? Because you look kind of-"

"Tasha, I said I'm fine," Kendall snapped.

I felt my eyes grow wide and I watched as hers did too. She had never once yelled at me before. We had never had a disagreement, and there was never anything she couldn't tell me. She looked down at her menu, disappointment written all over her face. I knew she wasn't upset with me. Something happened when they were upstairs. Something major, something she either didn't want to talk about or wasn't allowed to talk about.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

I shook my head, "No, I shouldn't have pushed."

"How about you both shut up and figure out what you want for dinner all right?" John asked sounding annoyed.

A sad look crossed Kendall's features, a look she didn't think anyone saw. And just as quick as it was there, it vanished and was replaced with a smile. A smile that she kept on all night long. A smile that I knew was fake but I didn't say anything. I let her go, thinking she was fooling me. I would confront her later on, when we were alone, when we didn't have Sean and John listening to our conversation.

Sean brought me out of my thoughts later that night as he walked me to the room we would now be sharing, "You've been really quiet since dinner."

I only nodded, not wanting to answer. It's not that I didn't trust him; okay maybe I don't trust him. But it has more to do with the fact that I really just want to talk to Kenny about it first. Could it have been nothing? Sure. Is it a possibility that I'm jumping to conclusions? Of course. Do I really think I am? No chance in hell.


	17. Chapter 17

**Sean's POV**

"Ya know, I heard from the grapevine that you aren't supposed to be out here alone," I teased.

Once again Kendall was on the top deck, her arms resting on the railing and her head resting on her arms. She shook her head slightly before turning and half looking at me.

"You shouldn't listen to rumors. Leave them to the stupid high school children," she shot back before slurring, "Shit, please don't tell Tasha I said that. I've already hurt her feelings once today."

"Actually you hurt her feelings yesterday. It's 4 in the morning Kendall," I told her.

She chuckled, "John is gonna be so pissed when he wakes up."

"Are you drunk?" I asked cautiously.

"Probably. I've been drinking this since I came out here," she said holding up a fifth of Tequila that was more than half empty.

"John is going to be so pissed," I repeated.

She looked at me fully and I had to hold in a gasp. She didn't have any makeup on now and even though it was dark, I could distinctly see the welt on her face. The bruise was forming as well, even though it wasn't as noticeable.

"He's already pissed so I don't think it really matters now," she whispered sadly.

"Kendall, you gotta stop saying things that will piss him off," I gently scolded.

"It's easier this way," she answered, shaking her head.

"What does that mean? How can it be easier if he is always angry with you?"

"Because if I do things that make him mad then he's mean to me. If he's mean to me then I don't feel myself falling in love with him anymore," she confessed.

"It's okay to fall in love with your husband," I told her.

"No. You're supposed to fall in love with your boyfriend. Then he is supposed to ask you to marry him. Then you get married and have kids and live happily ever after. You go on dates and you smile all the time. You know each other well and nothing is forced. When you have sex, he doesn't say things that make it seem like he's using you and he doesn't hit you just because he has a terrible temper," she explained.

She ranted on, complaining about something I didn't understand as I led her back to her and John's room. I don't think she even realized where we were going. She just kept talking and talking, stopping once in a while to take a drink. I rolled my eyes when she got on the subject of having sex with John that is not something that I really care about. I mean, when us guys are talking about it it's one thing. But when my sister-in-law is telling me about how amazing my brother is in the sack, I don't want to hear it, okay?

Knocking on the door, until John finally opens it, I said, "Take your wife, she's smashed."

He looked pissed and tired all at the same time. "Thanks Sean. Where was she?"

At the sound of his voice, Kendall's head shot up and she glared at me, "Traitorous bastard."

I shook my head and chuckled, "She's drunk. I'll see you later."

"Come on Priceless, let's get you inside and in bed," John suggested.

"Let's not" she slurred taking another drink from the bottle.

"You didn't think to take the bottle away?" John asked, shooting me a look.

"No, I was more worried about getting her back here before Punk found her."

He nodded, seemingly agreeing with my judgment at 4 in the morning. My thought was that the dumbass should have realized that his wife got out of bed. I shouldn't have been the one to hear the door shut, I shouldn't have been the one to follow her, and I shouldn't have been the one to watch as she drank straight from the bottle and contemplated throwing her wedding ring in the ocean. But I probably shouldn't tell John that part because that will only make him angrier.

"We'll talk about it in the morning Kendall. Get your ass in here," he growled.

Apparently, alcohol makes her brave because she crossed her arms over her chest, as best she could with that damn bottle in her hand, and glared at him. I was actually impressed that she was standing up to him.

"Or what? Ya gonna hit me? Already did that once today John, let's try a different punishment because that obviously didn't work," she told him.

John's jaw snapped together, his teeth grinding in his mouth. She was taunting him, for herself, to protect herself. He thought it was just to piss him off because she knew what would. She needed this space, I guess, between them. If they were always fighting and always mad at each other, then there was no room for her to fall in love with him. But that's not the way John works. And I don't think that's the way Kendall works either. This plan of hers will backfire on them.

He grabbed her wrist, the one connected to the hand that held the bottle of Tequila that she was holding onto for dear life, and pulled her into their room in on quick motion. I was sober and I barely saw it happen so I know for sure that Kendall didn't see it happen at all, either that or she that she was on a damn rollercoaster ride. They both disappeared from the door for a minute, but when John came back I had to same something, I don't care how much of a 'traitorous bastard' that made me.

"She's afraid," I said quietly, he looked at me weird but motioned for me to go on, "She's afraid that she's actually falling for you. So she's doing everything she can think of to separate her heart from you. She's doing things that will make you make her heart not want you."

He nodded, "Thanks for finding her. It would've been bad if she were found in the wrong hands with the state she's in. We probably won't make breakfast; I might just call something to the room, so I'll see you guys later. Okay?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Just think about what I said, John. You can't be mad at her for trying to protect herself against you," I coached gently.

He nodded again before closing the door. This felt weird. Here I am, almost ten years younger than him, and I'm giving him advice on his wife. I'm not even married yet. But I also don't have the temper issues that John has, somehow that skipped me. Not that I'm complaining because I can see how it's obviously tearing his marriage apart already. I guess that isn't the only thing though. Kendall would probably be doing this even if he didn't have such a bad temper. She'd just do things just to get on his bad side, just to make him mad at her so she would say he was mean and she didn't have to fall in love with him.

It made sense to me. Her whole life she's been torn apart by her brothers and her dad. She hasn't really had anyone who has cared about her. And even though John can be an ass, he's done some pretty awesome things for her. Like when he sent Ted away, but made him leave Tasha here. Gave her a place to live and made sure she got into our alma mater and got her a job within the company. The surprise honeymoon, this cruise that she was ruining. He was trying to make her happy and she knew that, but she was afraid of that. She was afraid of being happy, she was afraid of letting herself be happy. Because the last two times she was happy, they walked away and found someone 'better'. But, to be honest, John could never find someone better for him. Kendall is his match, the just fit together and they work together. He needs to show her that he isn't going anywhere. He needs to show her that they are going to be together, that he isn't going to leave her.

**John's POV**

My head is pounding and I'm the one who hasn't been drinking. What the hell is her problem? God damn.

"Johnny, I don't feel so good," Priceless whispered.

I shook my head. Part of me wanted to feel bad. Part of me wanted to go to her and hold her and tell her that everything would be just fine. But I couldn't promise her that. And I couldn't bring myself to feel bad for her. She is the one who drank two thirds of the fucking bottle.

"Lie down and go to sleep Kendall," I told her.

"But the room is spinning," she whined.

"Close your eyes."

She groaned. I'm guessing that made it worse. I plopped down on the bed, purposely making it shake, causing her to groan again. Good, serves her right. If she wants to go out and get drunk, risk Punk finding her out by herself, then she deserves to feel the consequences of it. I don't even have to do anything to make it worse. I mean I always could. I could yell at her and make her headache worse. I could jump on the bed and make her even more nauseous.

"Johnny?"

"Go to sleep Kendall."

"But I-"

"You nothing. Shut up and go to sleep."

"I just want to-"

"God damn it Kendall. Shut the fuck up and go to sleep. Not everyone is wide awake at 4:30 in the morning drunk off their ass. If you want to talk when I wake up then we'll talk when I wake up, but right now I want to fucking sleep," I shouted, feeling her jump at just about every word.

"Okay," she said softly before curling up into a ball.

Damn it, now I feel bad. Why do I feel bad? I shouldn't feel bad; I don't really have a reason to feel bad. I didn't do anything wrong. I don't want to sit here and listen to her drunk rambling. If she wants to talk when she's sober then I'll listen to her, but I'm not going to deal with it right now.

"John?" Shake. "Johnny?" Shake, shake. "Johnny, its 10 o'clock." Shake. "Johnny? Did you want me to get you anything to eat?" Sigh. "John, please wake up, I'm bored."

"Kendall are you even hung over right now?" I growled.

"You're mad at me still. I'm sorry. I'll just, I don't know, go read or something," she said, getting off the bed.

"You can't just walk out at whatever time you left last night with a bottle of Tequila and come back to the room completely trashed and expect me to not be angry Kendall. You aren't supposed to be out by yourself anyway. We've already covered that fact. I don't know what the hell Punk wants, until I figure it out I want you and Tasha to be safe," I explained, trying to be gentle.

"Well, maybe we could like, I don't know, kind of, bait him," she suggested, cautiously I noticed.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"Never mind. You won't agree with it. Just forget I said anything," she said, shaking her head.

Priceless sat down in chair, leaning against one arm her legs flopped over the other, and opened her book. I sighed and sat up in the bed, trying to figure out what she was talking about. Bait Punk? How could we bait him? And bait him for what? For information?

"No, Kendall. What are you talking about?" I pressed.

"I don't know. It's not important John. It was a dumb idea, I never should have brought it up," she said quickly.

"Okay, you're obviously hiding something. What were you thinking?"

She sighed, knowing that she shouldn't lie anymore, "I was just thinking that, if we baited him, we could get him to tell us what his damage was. Like, now don't say no yet because this is just an idea, maybe if we argued or something in front of him, he would see me as a damsel in distress and I could befriend him. Then get him to trust me just enough to tell me what the hell he wants."

"Priceless," her smile grew huge and I realized I hadn't called her Priceless since last night, "I don't really know," and she frowns, "it's just that, I don't want to put you in danger like that."

Nodding, she went back to her book. It was a good idea, but I wouldn't risk her safety. No matter what she thought, I did care about her. This brings me to what Sean told me last night. Why wouldn't she want to open her heart to me? Am I really that terrible a husband? I mean I know I have a temper, but I thought I was doing a pretty good job of keeping it in check. And I was trying to give her things I thought she'd like. I shook my head, and she thought she wasn't good enough. Apparently, I'm not good enough.

I stood up, grabbed some clothes, and walked to the bathroom to take a shower, anger palpitating throughout my body. What do I have to do? I have done nothing but try to prove myself to her and what does she do to me in return? She lies to me, argues with me constantly, and purposely tries my patience. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to reel in my temper with her. I nearly lost it on our wedding night, and I ended up throwing her down the stairs.

"I'm sorry," I heard from the corner of the room as I walked out of the bathroom. I looked up to see Priceless sitting in the chair, elbows resting on her knees, head in her hands. "I'm sorry I left the room alone last night and got drunk. And I'm sorry for whatever I said when I got back."

"Why'd you do it?" I asked, wanting her to tell me what she told Sean.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug, "It just felt better to not feel anything for a while."

**Kendall's POV**

"And why is that Kendall?" he asked, getting angry again and I tried not to flinch at the fierceness of his voice. "I've tried to do nothing but make you happy. I have given you everything you could want. Why is it not enough?"

I wanted to tell him, explain to him that as many possessions and gifts and trips he gives me it's not going to be enough. Money can't buy happiness; he is the one who told me that. John is the person who told me that he wanted someone to hold, someone to share his life with. I want someone who loves me, someone I can love back. But John won't love me and I know that.

"It is enough, John," I lie.

"No, it obviously isn't. If it was then you wouldn't be getting drunk because 'it just felt better not to feel anything'. Do you enjoy putting yourself at risk? Because for the past two nights that's all you've been doing," he pointed out.

"No, I don't."

"Then what the hell would possess you to go out in the middle of the night with a bottle of Tequila when you know there is someone who could hurt you on this ship? Do you not realize how dangerous Punk is? Has Eve not told you enough? Or are you just that much of a selfish bitch?" he growled.

There it was again, him degrading me. Every time he did, I felt my heart rip. It was the weirdest most painful thing I've ever felt in my entire life. My father and brothers would say worse things to me but none of their words had this effect on me. It was then that I realized I'd already given him my heart, it was his to do whatever with and I was now giving my free reign to stomp on it how he pleased. Maybe it was better this way, getting it over with quickly, that way I didn't feel a thing when he threw me away.

"Are you even listening to me right now?" he asked, "Have you heard anything I've been saying for the past 5 minutes?"

I looked up at him, confusion and a bit of sadness in my eyes unable to mask them. "I'm sorry John. I didn't mean for it to come off as though everything you've done wasn't enough. I just, so much has happened so quickly and sometimes I feel like I'm going to explode."

"Then why don't you talk about it? You don't say enough about how you are feeling or how you're dealing with everything. I know this is a shock to you and I'm sorry about that. But you could make this easier on yourself, if you wanted to."

"Because if I open up to you then you know things about me and I start getting attached to you. If I become attached to you then it'll hurt a lot more when you-"I stopped, realizing that I was actually talking out loud. I wasn't thinking this in my head, I was telling him.

"When I what?" he asked, pausing until he realized that I wasn't going to answer him, "When I what Kendall? What will hurt more?"

"It'll hurt more when you get bored with me," I said quietly, giving up my fight, giving in to him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Kendall's POV**

I watched as his eyes went from questioning to the coldest blue I've ever seen. Randy Orton's icy blue eyes paled in comparison to John Cena's angry ones, I had to take a step back from the intensity alone. And at first, he didn't say anything nor did he move. I was afraid I'd finally, unintentionally, pushed him off the deep end. And the thoughts that went through my head were that I shouldn't have opened my mouth to begin with. This is what happens, I get myself into trouble and he gets angry and I get hurt.

His fists clenched at his sides, then unclenched, and then clenched again, as if he was trying to release some of his anger. When he took the first step towards me, I almost screamed, completely afraid that he was going to attack me, beat me like my brothers had. My mind was screaming at my body to move but I was frozen to the spot. John grabbed my arms roughly, forcing me to sit down on the bed before he threw the chair I'd been sitting in before across the room. I yelped as it connected to the wall.

John took a deep breath before turning to look at me, "Bored?" he demanded, his tone chillingly calm, "What would make you think I would get bored Kendall?"

"Everyone gets bored with me," I whispered.

"You're going with that tactic again?" he asked, "I thought we were over the whole 'John is just like my family' bullshit."

"It's not only my family John," I tried to say, but he cut me off.

"Then what is it? Is it Randy? Is it because he didn't love you? Is it because he found someone better?" My breath audibly caught in my throat and I shook my head.

"John, stop," I said, my voice cracking.

"You do realize that the only reason he had sex with you is because he didn't want your brothers to have someone else forcibly take your innocence, right? He never loved you Kendall, so there was nothing for him to get bored with," he said.

"Please stop," I begged.

"So it obviously isn't Randy. Then is it Evan? I'm not exactly sure what he told you, but I'm pretty sure that he and Kelly went to high school together. At least that's what the story was when they moved here. So, if anything he got bored without her, you were just there to pass the time with. I mean, have you seen Kelly? Do you really think he would have left her for you?" he mocked, continuing to ignore my requests for him to stop.

"Which leads us to your family, obviously your father never wanted you, but you rarely talk about your mother. Why not? Did she get bored with you too? Did she realize how boring you were and just leave you to the wolves?" he asked.

"John-"

"Answer the damn question!" he yelled.

"No! She didn't. But she wasn't allowed to see me," I yelled back, finally losing my temper, "She was the only person who ever truly loved me and I wasn't allowed to see her."

"Why?" he asked, his tone and eyes softening, "Why weren't you allowed to see her?"

I felt all my walls crumbling. Everything was falling in on me and there was nothing to stop it. John was breaking me down, but he was rebuilding me in the process. He was weakening me and strengthening me at the same time.

"When I was younger, she used to sneak in my room at night when she thought I was sleeping, when she thought he was sleeping. She used to tell me that she loved me and that she'd get me out of there that she'd save me. She stopped doing it when I got older and started living at home instead of the boarding school, but when I moved home from college she started doing it again. One night, he must have been awake and he followed her and he heard what she said. After that he started locking me in my room more, or I'd have to have someone watching me all the time to make sure she would stop. She wasn't allowed to come anywhere near me after that," I told him, my voice cracking and my eyes threatening to spill tears.

I felt him kneel in front of me and take my hands in his, "Not everyone gets bored with you Priceless. I'm not going to walk out on you and leave you alone. When I married you, I had no intention of getting a divorce."

"That doesn't mean you wont find someone better-"

"But that doesn't mean I will. Priceless, I married _you_ and _you _are having my kids. If I had wanted some random off the street I'd taken some random off the street. I'm not going to cheat on you and I'm not going to divorce you. But I'm also not going to deal with you going around and getting drunk all the time just because 'it felt better not to feel anything'," he told me.

"I didn't mean for it to sound like I wasn't grateful for what you've given me, John. It's just that I-"I stopped again, trying to find the words. How do you tell someone that you think you're falling in love with them?

"I know. Sean told me what you told him last night," he said.

I looked at him confused, "John, I don't know what I told him last night. I don't even remember coming back here last night."

"How were you not hung over this morning?" he asked, "When you woke me up, you were perfectly fine. I half expected you to be sleeping the day away."

"I don't really get hangovers. I woke up, had a headache, threw up, and felt better," I explained, "What did I tell him?"

He smirked at me, "You'll have to ask him. You called him a traitorous bastard for bringing you here in the first place; I'd hate to hear what you call him for telling me what you said."

"I called him what?"

John laughed, "Apparently you get really outspoken when you get drunk because when I told you to get in the room you told me to find a different punishment because I'd already hit you and it hadn't worked."

Oh my gosh. I dropped my head into my hands which made John laugh harder. No, getting drunk didn't make me outspoken it made me a fool. What if it had been Punk who had found me? If I had said something like that to him, I don't even want to know what he would have done.

**Tasha's POV**

"Can we at least go see if she's alright? Please?" I asked. I started panicking when I heard the loud bang come from John and Kenny's room.

"Tasha, I'm sure they're fine. John isn't going to hurt her," he tried to assure me.

I rolled my eyes, "You may think that, but I don't know that. Please Sean? I know that they are arguing about her drinking and leaving the room at night by herself, but I need to know that she is alright."

I could see in his eyes that he was debating keeping me in our room and relenting to let me check on my best friend. And I was pretty sure that eventually I would get my way, I just had to think of the right things to say.

"Sean, if everything is fine and he gets upset at us for intruding then I'll just say that I walked out of our room and to theirs. He won't even be upset with you, I swear. Just, I need to know she is safe. Please," I asked again.

This got him, even though I knew he wouldn't let me take the heat. The fact that I offered to was enough for him to give in, even though he would have eventually. I didn't have time for eventually, I wanted to see her now. I kissed him on the cheek quickly before walking out of our room and to John and Kenny's room, knocking twice.

To my surprise, Kendall answered and with a smile on her face, "Hey Tiny, Sean. Come on in."

"Kenny?" I said cautiously, knowing she'd understand my tone.

But she ignored me, "How are you guys doing this morning?" she asked.

"Kendall, how are you alive this morning?" Sean gaped, "I was pretty sure you were going to have some kind of alcohol poisoning."

I kind of laughed at that, "She has a pretty high booze tolerance." My eyes widened when I realized I said that out loud. "Sorry."

"She didn't even have a hangover this morning," John told us with what sounded like awe in his voice.

"She doesn't get hangovers. She wakes up with a headache, throws up, and she's perfectly fine. It's the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my whole life. All the parties her brothers threw, they would get drunk and then Brett would spend the rest of the day with all the lights off in his room and he'd yell if there were any noises. It got so annoying," I told them. Sean scowled when I mentioned Brett and it occurred to me that maybe he cared for me more than I thought. I made a mental note that I wouldn't bring up Brett again.

"Can y'all stop talking about me like I'm not here?" she asked us, feigning annoyance.

"That's exactly what she did this morning," John told me, ignoring Kenny with a smirk, "She even woke up before me."

"If you'd like me to leave, I can," she suggested.

"No!" Sean and John shouted, causing the both of us to jump.

"I was just joking. I wasn't really going to leave," she told them quietly.

"So, what is on the menu for today?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"I think it's just a boat day. We aren't stopping anywhere," John said.

"I can't wait for tomorrow," Kenny said with a smile, directed at me. I shook my head, telling her to stop.

"What's tomorrow?" Sean asked.

"Two days before Christmas," John commented.

"Even better, it's Tiny's birthday," Kendall said.

"What? Why didn't you tell us sooner?" John asked.

"She doesn't like to make a big deal out of it. Birthdays in my family weren't the best days we knew," Ken explained.

I walked out. I didn't want to celebrate my birthday ever again. My seventeenth birthday had been the worst birthday I'd ever had thanks to Brett and he'd promised to make my 18th even 'better' because I would finally be legal. Honestly, I wanted to sleep through the whole day and not wake up until Christmas Eve day.

Trying to get as far away from them as I could, I walked straight into a wall. A wall that had many tattoos.

"I am so sorry," I said, backing away from the man.

"You are perfectly fine Miss Tasha Baretta," he cooed.

When I tried to walk around him, he stepped in my way. "Excuse me," I said.

He smiled and shook his head, "I want Kendall."

"I'm sorry sir. I don't think I can help you with that," I told him.

I turned and walked away but he grabbed onto my hair, pulling me back to him. I tried to call for John or Sean but he put his hand over my mouth and carried my further away from their room. Wherever he was taking me I could only hope that we ran into someone on the way, someone who would stop him.

"I'm actually quite sure you can," he growled.

**John's POV**

"Sean, go after her. She'll listen to you," I sighed. Priceless looked upset with herself and I knew it was because she'd managed to upset Tiny again. But I didn't understand why they didn't like birthdays. I mean, Tasha was finally going to be a legal adult this year, which was a good thing. I waited for Sean to nod and walk out before asking anything. "Priceless, what's going on?"

"I shouldn't have said anything," she told me quietly, "I just, I thought maybe since we weren't there anymore, it wouldn't be so bad."

"Why are birthdays bad?" I asked cautiously.

"For me? I get ignored and Brett liked to throw fits about how it wasn't fair that he had to share his birthday with me, even though he didn't. My parents always had parties for him and his name was always on the cakes and the cards and the presents. I just hated that they didn't care, but that was an everyday thing for me," she told me, "But for Tasha, when she got older and Brett started doing everything to her, she got a 'special present'. Really, it was just an excuse for him to get more sex but he told her that this year was going to be ever 'better' because she was finally legal for him. I shouldn't have brought it up. I should have known that she wasn't over everything he did. I'm so incredibly stupid."

"You couldn't have known Priceless," I tried to assure her, "She didn't tell you, there is no way you could have known that she was still effected by it."

"But I should have known, John. Look how badly I'm affected by it and I didn't go through what she did."

"You went through just as much as she did just different things. And you never know how much one thing effects one person. You act out when your past is hurting you, you last out at me, and you last out on yourself. Tiny holds it in because she wants to be strong, because she doesn't want to seem weak," I told her.

"John, I can't find her!" Sean said as he ran back into the room.


	19. Chapter 19

**Kendall's POV**

"What do you mean you can't find her?" I asked, "She was right there, you left just after she did. Sean where is she?"

"Kendall, I'm sorry. I don't know where she is. I thought she went to our room but she wasn't there. I don't know where else she might be," he told me.

"Okay, guys let's not panic. She might just be wandering on the top deck. Let's go look together," John suggested, trying to keep us together.

We nodded, and I tried to remember how to breathe again. If I lose Tasha, I don't know what I'll do. Especially with Punk running around and us not knowing what he wants, or if he even wants anything other than to mess with our heads.

**Tasha's POV**

When he finally pushed me into a room and locked the door, I didn't know what to do. Punk started advancing on me and I knew that I had to think of something quick.

"Wait. If you let me go, I can get her to come willingly," I told him.

Punk looked at me, unbelievingly, "She wouldn't do that. And you'd just tell the Cena's."

"No," I said, shaking my head, "Well, I'd have to tell them all. But she'd come, I swear. Please, just don't hurt me."

"You do realize if you tell them that I took you they'll try to hurt me right?" he asked.

"I don't have to tell them, then. I can just tell them that, I don't know. I'll tell them that I was hiding from them, they'll believe it. Then when I get time alone with Kendall, I'll tell her the truth and she'll come to you. But if you hurt me then they'll kill you and you'll never get her," I pleaded.

"When will you be able to get her alone?" he questioned, taking another step closer to me.

"I- I don't know. They don't like us being alone with you here," I admitted and he nodded.

"Do it quickly," he demanded, finally reaching me and grabbing my chin firmly, "And I will be watching you."

He threw me out of the room and I literally ran back to my own room as quickly as I could, wanting to wash the feel of him off of me. Punk may not have touched me for very long but it was enough for me to feel dirty. I turned the shower as hot as I could stand it, knowing my skin would be a bright red when I got out and not really caring very much.

Just as I was getting out of the shower and wrapping a towel around my body, Kendall came bursting into the room.

"Tasha Ann Baretta, where in the world have you been?" she practically screamed, "I have been worried sick. Don't you ever, ever, ever run away like that again! Do you hear me?"

"Kenny, I didn't," I started.

"Oh good you found her!" John called as he came into the room as well, Sean following quickly after.

"What the hell were you thinking going off by yourself like that?" Sean asked me, "Anything could have happened! Especially with Punk out there. What would you have done if Punk had gotten you?"

"Exactly what I did do," I muttered quietly, stopping all of their scolding.

"What did you say?" Kendall asked.

I looked up at her, "I'm sorry, Kenny. I told him that if he let me go then I wouldn't tell John and Sean that he took me. I told him that if he let me go then what he wanted would go to him willingly. He was going to hurt me and it was the only thing I could think of and I didn't want him to touch me. I just wanted him to leave me alone."

"What does he want, Tiny?" John asked.

By this time, my eyes were stinging with tears but I couldn't look away from Kendall. She nodded slightly and I knew that she understood. She grabbed me in a tight hug, one that told me she wasn't angry with me for what I did.

"Please don't go," I whispered in her ear so the boys wouldn't hear.

"I have to. But it will be okay. I will be okay," she whispered back before releasing me and looking at John, "I'm going to let the people in charge know that we found her so they can stop their search as well. No need for them to look when she's in her own room, right?"

"You shouldn't go out alone Priceless," he told her.

"It's fine John. I'm only going to security and back. It shouldn't take any longer than maybe 10 or 15 minutes. If I'm not back by then send out the troops," she joked, looking at me but her eyes were serious, telling me that if she wasn't back to tell them the truth.

When she walked out of the room, I let the tears fall.

**Kendall's POV**

I took a deep breath as I walked out of the room, away from John. I knew that I was walking away from my protection, my safety and I wished I could have taken him with me. But that would have only caused problems for Tasha and I didn't want that.

Walking to the security office only took a minute and walking to Punks room took less than that. When I raised my hand to knock on the door, I wasn't too surprised when it opened before I brought my hand down. He pulled me inside, closing the door and locking it behind me, before walking around me in a circle.

Looking me up and down as if appraising me he said, "I can see why John picked you. You'll do."

"I just came here to tell you to leave me family alone. If you ever put your hands on my niece again-"

"Accept, she's not your niece, Kendall," he reminded me, "She is just your servant."

"No. She is a friend, not a servant," I said stubbornly.

"Servant."

"Friend."

"Servant!"

"Friend!"

The back of his hand whipped across my face, the force sending me to the ground and I knew I'd have a bruise to match the one John gave me the day before. He stood over me, menacingly and I scooted away from him.

"Don't raise your voice to me, Kendall. I don't take well to it," he growled.

I knew, from what Eve had told me that it would be my only warning and I immediately started looking for a way to get out. I shouldn't have come. Tasha should have told John everything, instead of me interpreting and thinking I could solve it.

"What do you want, Punk?" I asked.

"I thought that would have been obvious by know, Kendall. I want you," he said with a smirk.

"But you can't have me. I'm married," I pointed out.

"So get a divorce," he shrugged.

"One, I don't know you. Two, I don't like you. Three, just no."

"You didn't know John before you married him," he laughed.

"Two wrongs don't make a right," I quoted.

"You're telling me you like John?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do. I like him a lot," I told him.

"You like his money."

"No, I don't really care about his money. My family has plenty of money, Punk. I don't need John for his money," I said.

"But your family won't give you any of their money if you aren't with John," he said.

"If I left John or if he left me, no they wouldn't. But it doesn't matter because if John and I did get divorced I would get half of whatever he has. Not that we have to worry about that because John and I aren't getting divorced," I stated firmly.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, if I were you."

"Are you trying to threaten me? Because I'm not really sure that it's going to work," I smiled.

"And why is that? You do realize that I can overpower you, right?" he asked, stepping closer.

"I've dealt with my brothers my whole life and they're bigger than you are. You don't really scare me that much, Punk" I told him.

"Well, I should. I know that you know what I did to Eve." My head shot up and I looked him in the eyes. "Yes, I know she's in West Newbury and if I really cared I would have gotten her a few years ago. But I've actually had my eye on someone else for quite some time and I've been offering and counter offering ever since I heard they were taking bids on her."

"John won me and I'm not leaving him. I just came here to tell you to leave me and my family alone. So know, I'm going to leave you and you are never going to talk to me or Tasha ever again," I ordered before walking towards the door.

"John didn't win you. He stole you."

**John's POV**

"Tasha where did she go?" I demanded from the crying girl.

"To him. He wants her," she stuttered between breaths and sobs.

I looked at Sean, barely containing the anger I felt. Fucking hell. I walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me and ran to security to find out where Punk's room is. The smart thing to do probably would have been to ask Tiny, but I wasn't exactly thinking straight. I just needed to find Kendall.

When I finally got to the room I heard Punk yell, "John didn't win you, he stole you!"

I smiled when Priceless yelled back at him, "No they made a deal. Because my family is a bunch of fuck ups and I was the pawn to fix their mistakes. I don't care what you say, I'm not leaving him."

"What did I tell you about raising your voice?" he growled.

The tone of his voice worried me and I immediately started trying to open the door. Then I started banging on the door and ramming my shoulder into the door, hoping to break it open. When it opened, I flew inside the room and saw Priceless sitting on the floor in the corner of the room.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Punk asked me.

"I'm getting my wife," I told him.

He shrugged, "She came to me."

"I know. And I also know that you threatened her best friend and if my brother finds out that you touched her, you're going to wish you were dead," I said.

"Your brother has nothing on me and besides what I did to that bitch is nothing compared to what I plan on doing to yours," he smirked.

I stepped closer to him, returning the smirk, "If you ever come near my bitch, I'll personally kill you. Now, unless you want me to get McMahon even more involved than I already have, I suggest you keep to yourself for the rest of the cruise."

I walked to Priceless and pulled her to her feet, walking out the door with her and leaving a pissed off CM Punk behind. Thankfully, I'd been able to mask my anger at Priceless and I hoped I'd be able to keep it up, at least until we got to our room.

"Johnny," she said quietly, hugging me tightly as we walked.

I shot her a look that told her to be quiet, a look that she knew well. I wanted to enjoy her holding onto me, her initiating any kind of affection towards me, but right now I was a little too pissed to be focused on that. When we reached our room, I motioned for her to go in our room, telling her I'd be there in a minute but I wanted to let Sean and Tiny know that she was safe. It was partially true, but I also just wanted to take a minute to try to cool myself down and I knew that Sean would be able to help me with that.

"She's okay?" Tiny asked as soon as I walked in the room.

I nodded and looked at Sean, "For now."

"She was trying to keep Tasha safe," Sean stated immediately knowing my tone, "You know that she will do anything and everything for her. No matter what."

"She put herself in danger. She lied to me," I countered.

"Did she go to security like she said?" I nodded. "And she gave us a warning, technically. She said to send out the troops if she didn't come back in 10 or 15 minutes. Well it didn't even take that long because Tasha gave it away when she started crying. You weren't even gone for an hour man. You took care of it, right?" I nodded again. "Good. Then all we need to do is let McMahon know what is going on. He won't be happy about it, but I don't really care."

"John?" Tiny said, I looked over at her and my anger vanished, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I know that I should have, I was just so scared and I don't know why I didn't. I was going to but then when Kenny hugged me, I knew she was just going to leave and didn't want me to tell you and I didn't know what to do and I got scared that he would hurt her anyway even though he said he wouldn't. And I-"

"Tiny, stop. I'm not mad," I said.

"I know you are. And you have every right to be and- Wait. Did you say you're not mad?" she asked, looking surprised.

I laughed a bit, "No, I'm not mad. I understand why you both did what you did. Just, next time please tell me instead of sending my wife into a suicide mission. Alright?"

She agreed and hugged me before I walked out and over to my room.

Priceless was sitting on the bed, her back facing me and I could see her shoulders shaking. It was the first time I've ever seen her actually cry. I heard her crying the first night she was in my house but she's never let me see her cry and I knew that she was letting her guard down.

"Priceless," I said as I walked towards her. She quickly straightened up and wiped her eyes, but it was too late.

"I'm sorry I lied. I just didn't want him to hurt Tiny anymore. I know you told me not to go anywhere near him, but I only what to tell him to leave my family alone. I swear, that's all I was doing. He told me that he wanted me to leave you and I refused to but he didn't really say much about it. He said that he'd been offering my father money for me for years and he kept refusing. He said that you stole me but I told him you didn't and that's when you came in. I swear John. I just wanted him to leave us alone," she ranted.

"I know. I heard the last part of it," I admitted, turning her to face me and seeing red when I saw the mark on her face. A mark I didn't make. She looked down guiltily.

"I yelled at him," Priceless said quietly, "He kept saying that Tiny was my servant but I told him she was a friend and I yelled. I should have known better, after everything he did to Eve."

I pulled her into my arms, silently vowing to get a better handle on my anger. It wasn't fair of me to get angry at other people for hitting her when I hit her myself.

"I'm sorry," I said, just as quietly. She tried to look up at me, but the way I was holding her made it an impossible feat. "I get mad at other people for doing the same things I do and it's not fair." She took a sharp inhale of air and I knew she took what I said the wrong way. "No, wait, just listen. It's not fair to you because not only should I keep you safe from other people but I should keep you safe in your own home and I'm not keeping you safe if I'm hurting you. So, I'm telling you right now if I walk away from you when we are arguing, it's because I'm trying to protect you. Okay?" Feeling her nod, I pulled her down onto the bed and sighed. "Can we just stay here for the rest of the day?"

I felt her move and then I felt my khaki shorts being messed with. When I opened my eyes she was smiling at me, "What kinds of things can we do if we just stay here?"

"We don't have to do anything. I was just thinking we could just lie here or something," I told her.

"Or something."

She slipped me out of my jeans and licked the vein on the underside of my cock. I shivered, instantly hard against her tongue. Part of me wanted to stop her, she's never given me head before and I hadn't wanted to push her. Another part of me wanted to bury my hands in her hair and force her to deep throat me until I came in her mouth. When her lips wrapped around the tip and she licked the precum from the slit of my penis, I couldn't stop the groan the vibrated from my throat from escaping.

"Priceless, you need to stop. Like, now," I said trying to get control.

"Wh- What? Wh- Why?" she asked.

"Just stop."

"Oh, Okay. I'll just, uh, read," she told me as she got out of the bed and walking over to the chair she'd been sitting in earlier.

"I'm going to take a shower," I announced after taking a deep breath.

Fuck I just turned down a blow job from my wife. What the hell is wrong with me?


	20. Chapter 20

So, I got my first hate review. Apparently I forgot to put a warning on Ch 10 about sexual content, my bad. At least that's what I'm thinking they were complaining about, who knows. Anyway, I will be gone this weekend. If I try really hard, I might be able to get an update by tomorrow morning before I leave. But I'm bring my computer with me so I'll be able to write, just not update. I will for sure update by Monday night!  
>I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend and stay safe! [:<p>

* * *

><p><strong>John's POV<strong>

"Home! Oh, how I've missed you so!" Tasha shouted as she ran through the front door.

I shook my head. The cruise, even though the beginning was hectic, ended up being a lot of fun. I heard that after our little run in with Punk he left early, which doesn't surprise me at all. He's a pussy and he can't fight his own battles. Tasha and Sean have been getting even closer, they aren't 'official' or anything yet, but I don't think it'll be much longer before they are. And then there is my wife.

"I think two weeks might have been a bit too much," Priceless commented as she followed Tiny, "I mean, it was a lot of fun and it was good to get away. But now she has school tomorrow and no down time to rest."

"She'll be fine, Priceless. We can send out for a pizza and she can go to bed early and we'll get her up in the morning. You worry too much," I told her and attempted to hug her.

"I suppose," she shrugged and walked away, "I'm going to go shower. Will you order the pizza then? Sean is staying, I assume."

It's been like this since I denied her attempts to give me head. She tried after that too, a couple times I might add, but something just didn't feel right and I could do it. We still have sex, pretty much every night, and it's still amazing like it's always been. But she won't let me touch her outside of that. And she won't really talk to me about anything that has to do with her.

"Damn it," I muttered under my breath. Honestly, I don't know what my problem is. I've gotten head before, from plenty of other girls, so why does it not feel right when it's my wife, for heaven's sake. She's supposed to do things like that.

I called Tiny's favorite pizza parlor and placed an order for delivery before deciding to unpack the Hummer. As I was bringing everyone's suitcases inside, I tried to figure out why it felt so wrong. Or if it was just that I didn't want her to feel forced. Or if there was something wrong with me. Nothing came to mind but I knew that I was pushing her away. It was pretty obvious just by the way she was acting towards me.

"What's for dinner?" Tiny whined as her and Sean came upstairs.

"Pizza. I ordered it a few minutes ago, so it should be here shortly. Priceless should be getting out of the shower soon too," I told them.

"What'd you do to her?" Tiny asked bluntly.

"I didn't do anything," I scoffed.

She rolled her eyes, "Of course you didn't, because she's being standoffish towards everyone for no reason."

"And explain to me how that's my fault?" I asked, getting angry for really no reason because I knew that it was my fault to begin with.

"Kenny doesn't get upset with me. And I don't really do anything to upset her. Well at least, I haven't done anything to upset her. So that leaves you," she told me in a 'duh' tone of voice.

I looked to Sean for some help but he just shrugged and said, "She's right man. It's like she's pushing all of us away. But if you say you didn't do anything, then I guess I can respect that."

Tiny shot him a look, "Oh so now you're on his side?"

"He is my brother, babe."

"And she's my best friend. She has never, ever been like this to me," Tiny said, her voice cracking a bit. She turned to me and gave me an icy glare, "It's all because you keep holding it over her head. I told you to send me back. Just do it already. I don't want to be here if you're only going to hold it over her head and make her hate me."

"Trust me when I say that the reason Priceless is upset has nothing to do with us having kids," I told her, "It has nothing to do with her being mad at you, either. I promise."

"So you do know why she's upset?" I nodded. "Then fix it. Because I don't like being pushed away emotionally by my best friend," she said.

Sean nodded, taking her side this time, and I couldn't argue. It felt weird, getting put in my place by an 18 year old. Okay, I felt like a freaking child. I was going to tell them I didn't know how to fix it when the doorbell rang.

"Pizza's here!" Priceless yelled as she walked down the stairs, "I got it!"

"You're not the pizza guy," I heard her say with some attitude before changing her tone of voice to sounding worried, "What's wrong?" she asked. Whoever was at the door answered and Priceless said, "Okay just hold on a sec."

She walked into the kitchen as Tiny, Sean and I gave each other questioning looks.

"That wasn't the pizza guy," she told me.

"Yeah, I heard."

"It was Randy. Do you mind if I go help him out for a few?" she asked.

"Priceless, we just got home. And I just ordered dinner," I complained.

"I know, John but this is really important. And I shouldn't be gone for too long," she said trying to talk me into it.

"Whatever," I relented, "But you're not wearing that."

She looked down at her clothes, probably just remembering that she'd put on shorts and a tank top after her shower. "Fine, I'll go change. Tiny, be sure to get to sleep at a decent time tonight. You have school in the morning."

We watched as she ran up the stairs and reappeared a couple minutes later with jeans and a sweater. She looked at me for a minute and stopped before walking away and we heard the front door close behind them.

**Kendall's POV**

"You had to ask permission before leaving the house?" Randy asked when we pulled out of the driveway.

"No," I glared, not giving him any other explanation.

"Ken doll, I know you're mad at me-"

"Randy just get to the chase. What is wrong with Sam and Alanna? You said you couldn't explain there, can you explain now?" I asked. The upset look on his face got even worse and I regretted asking because that look alone told me something bad happened.

"It's complicated. And I can kind of explain things; the gist of it is that they were taken. Sometimes it really sucks, this business we were born in," he told me.

"Randy! Who took them? Why did they take them?" I asked, starting to panic, "And how can I help you get them back?"

His face turned form upset to guilty, "Don't hate me," he whispered.

As soon as he said that, I knew he was trading me for his wife and daughter. My whole life, Randy was the only person I could trust; he was the only person I knew would keep me safe. Suddenly, I felt something that I've never felt around him. I was scared, simply because I knew that he wasn't going to protect me over Sam. I should have known that, eventually, something like this would happen. I mean, honestly look at my life. My father hates me. My brothers hate me. I was forced to marry a man who will never care about me. The one man that I actually gave my heart to is sitting here tell me that he was making a trade.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, "Who is it?" When he didn't answer, I got angry. "Damn it, Randy. Who is it?"

"You can't tell anyone," he started.

"Well, I'm not really going to be able to, now am I? I'll be with whoever it is. But I'd like some time to prepare myself for whatever hell you're sending me into," I snapped.

"Ken doll, please don't hate me. You don't understand the situation I'm in," he said, trying to make me understand.

"How can I not hate you? You don't think I understand? No, you don't understand. My best friend comes to my front door telling me he needs my help, come to find out he just needs me to step in place for his wife and kid. I trusted you Randy. And recently, I can't seem to remember why," I told him trying not to cry.

"You can trust me," he tried to elaborate.

"If I did this to you would you trust me? If John had been kidnapped and I came to your door asking for help, only to tell you later that you were taking his place, would you be able to trust me after that?" I asked him, trying to get him to see my side.

"You wouldn't do that," he smirked.

"We aren't talking about whether or not I would. And why are you saying that I wouldn't?"

"Because you don't care about him," he said.

I shook my head and blurted out, "You'd be surprised what a month can do, Randy."

He looked at me, as if trying to understand what I'd just said but he must have decided he didn't really care. Of course, Sam and Alanna were more important to him than I was.

"Can we get back to the pressing topic? Who took them, Randy? Who are you giving me to?" I asked, with a quite a bit of attitude.

"Punk," he said as quietly as he could.

I glared at him ever more before saying, "I will never forgive you for this. I could have forgiven you before. But not this, Randal."

"You have to see it where I'm coming from Ken doll-"

"Stop calling me that!"

"- if you were in my position you would do the same thing."

"No I wouldn't! I would go to someone who could help me. I wouldn't make a deal with the bastard. John told me that Mr. McMahon made it illegal for anyone to make deals with him. What you're doing right now is called making a deal with him. You are going to get yourself killed and then what's going to happen to Sam and Alanna?" I countered.

"I'm not going to get myself killed because no one is going to find out," he growled.

I gasped, "Are you threatening me?"

"If it keeps my family safe then, yes I am," he confirmed.

"And you ask me not to hate you," I mutter, shaking my head.

Inside, my heart was breaking. Everything was falling apart again and I knew that there would be no fixing it. Just as I'd predicted, John had grown bored with me and it only took a record month for it to happen. Randy was using me as a pawn and my family still hated me. Oh and in a few minutes I was going to be handed over to one of the most dangerous men.

"We're almost there," Randy announced after a few minutes of silence.

"Great I get a countdown," I said, rolling my eyes.

"He took my wife and my daughter, Ken doll! What do you expect me to do?" he yelled.

"Well, I surely don't expect you to use me as your pawn. I never thought you'd be just like my father and my brothers, but you are, aren't you? You'll do anything for yourself, no matter who you hurt in the process," I shouted back.

"I am nothing like your family. I will never put my hands on my wife or my child the way your dad did to you," he glared at me.

"Maybe not, but you're just as bad when it comes to using others to get what you want. John would never do this to me," I said.

"No? Are you sure about that? Because I'm pretty sure that he already did that once. He used you as a pawn when his family got sick of yours fucking up all the time. You are living the life of a pawn already."

"So that makes it better? I'm already a pawn, so let's move me again. How many times am I going to be moved? How many different guys are going to want me? How many different guys are going to trade me? And you're okay with this? You're okay with me being used and abused, then sold to the highest bidder when the current one gets bored?" I asked.

"No, I'm not-"

"Well, obviously you are if you're willing to send me off to Punk tonight," I told him.

"No, Kendall, I'm not okay with you being used and abused. But I need to get Sam and Alanna back. Once that happens, John and I can think of a way to get you back. I promise I'll fix this and we'll get you back home, where you belong," he said, trying to persuade me to see his side.

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't exactly believe your promises right now Randy. Why can't you just call John now? He'll help you and you won't have to pass me off," I suggested.

"Punk said not to. He said he'd hurt them if I brought anyone but you," he responded, pulling into a parking lot of what looked like an abandoned building, "Why does he want you?"

"I don't know. He was on the cruise for a week until John scared him off. He told me, the one time he got me alone, that he sent my father countless offers for me that all went unanswered. Obviously because of the whole 'no making deals with Punk' stipulation. That's really all I know," I told him.

"It's time to get out, Ken doll," he coaxed.

"I can't. Randy, please don't make me," I said quietly, for the first time asking him to rethink his plan.

"You have to Kenny. For me?" he asked.

"I will never, ever forgive you," I reminded him, my voice cracking

"I know you won't," he said sadly.

"And you're still going through with this?" I asked, giving him one last chance to back out.

"I need to get my wife and my daughter back. I need the people I love the most in this world," he answered.

I think that's when I truly felt my heart break. Randy didn't love me; he had just all but admitted that. I had always known that, but to hear him say it out loud hurt. We walked towards the building and I wiped the tears away from my eyes.

"Randy?" I asked quietly, "How did you know that you were in love with Sam? I mean, how did you know that she was better than all the rest?"

"I just knew. In my heart, I could feel it," he told me. He didn't give me the answer I wanted. I guess, I didn't know what answers I wanted.

When we got inside the building, I was immediately pulled away from Randy. My hands were being held behind my back and there was an arm around my waist to keep be from pulling away from whoever was holding onto me. No matter how hard I struggled, there was no way to get out of their grasp.

"Be a good girl, now," a creepy voice whispered in my ear, "I don't want to have to hurt such a pretty face."

Randy growled a bit when he heard what the man said causing him to chuckle. We both knew better than to say anything though. I was pushed through the building into a large room and immediately saw Sam sitting in the corner, holding Alanna in her lap. The little girl smiled when she saw me.

"Ken doll!" she called out, her happy-go-lucky attitude unaffected by the situation we were currently in.

"Hi Skipper," I smiled, trying to show as much enthusiasm.

"Aunt Ken doll, you don't come see me very much," she pouted.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I've just been really busy lately. I promise to come see you as soon as I can, alright?" I proposed, trying to keep her spirit up.

Her smile returned and I tried to smile back at her. The one thing that stopped me was the arm around me waist tightened, causing me to look down at it. It was thick, not was thick as John's or Randy's, but still thick. It didn't have tattoos on it either so I knew it wasn't Punk, I figured he'd have minions doing his dirty work like my brothers did.

"Aunt Ken doll," Alanna called me again, "Why is that man holding on to you like that?"

I looked to Randy, hoping he'd help me answer, but the man holding me answered instead.

"Because she was naughty so now I'm taking her to be punished."

The smirk on his face was evident in his voice even if I couldn't see it and it did nothing to the shame on my face. In that moment, I hated Randy more than I ever hated anyone before. This was his fault. I didn't do anything wrong, but now his daughter thought I had.

"What'd she do?" she asked, her lip starting to stick out and quiver, "Please don't be too mean to her. Her daddy was real, real mean. So, please don't hurt her."

I heard the man chuckle in my ear and felt him shake his head, "Don't worry, little one. She'll like it. You three, leave." He motioned to a large man near another door who shuffled Sam to her feet and the three of them were out of the door, safely.

I had never felt so hurt in my life and no one had really even touched me yet, as the man holding on to me pushed me into yet another room. This time, the first person I saw was the last person I ever wanted to see ever again.

"Colt, you know what to do with her," he said, his voice calm and collected.

The man holding me, Colt I presume, pushed me to Punks feet where I could now see some kind of chain and I started struggling again. It didn't matter though, he was stronger than I was, and he eventually got my ankles locked together and then locked onto the chain.

"Kendall, I thought you would have known by know, I want you. And now that I've got you, I'm going to keep you," Punk whispered in my ear as he bent down towards me. I tried to back up, momentarily forgetting about my ankle restraints, and ended up falling over onto my back. "You look good on your back like that."


	21. Chapter 21

Sorry, I thought I would get home a bit earlier. I just got finished putting some final touches on this and I am whipped so I apologize for any mistakes. There's a surprise in this one, just saying.  
>I hope you like it! Lemme know!<p>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Omniscient POV<span>**

Kendall was trembling from head to toe and she wasn't quite sure if it was from fear or how cold it was in the room she was in now. It was dark and slightly wet and she was regretting not wearing anything more than the light sweater she'd thrown on. Her mind kept going to John; thinking of him was the only thing that seemed to stop her tears. She tried to tell herself that Randy was telling her the truth that once Sam and Alanna were safe he'd go straight to John and let him know what was going on but she was having problems trusting Randy.

Punk told her he needed to speak with a couple of his friends for a minute but he'd be back soon. She didn't care where he was going, but she knew better than to tell him that. Kendall had all but promised herself that she was going to stay on his good side; she didn't want to do anything that meant she'd get hurt. Before he'd walked out the door Punk had petted her cheek, like she was some kind of animal, and she had to keep herself from turning just that little bit and biting his hand. If she didn't provoke him, he wouldn't have a reason to hurt her.

The door squeaked open and Kendall had to hold in a sob that lodged itself in her chest. There was no need for her to turn around to know that Punk had just walked through that door, returning to her as promised. If her feet weren't chained to the wall, she would have run a long time ago. He must have known that, though.

She felt his hand on the back of her neck and shuddered against the unexpected touch. If she had known it was going to be there she'd have been able to hold it in, but her back was to the door and she didn't even realize he was so close. He didn't like the movement she made as he gripped tighter, pushing her pressure points just right making her defenseless.

"Kitten, you know you want me too," he laughed as she made a noise indicating her discomfort, "Don't fight it."

"Please stop," she whimpered causing him to laugh harder.

His hand left her neck but a split second later she felt herself being whipped down to the floor by her hair. Her head hit the ground with a sickening thud and she groaned against the pain. Kendall wanted to reach up to her head, hold it to relieve the pain a bit, and just as she did Punk planted his foot into her stomach. With one hand on her head and the other wrapped around her stomach, Kendall didn't realize she'd just left her ribs wide open for his attack until she felt him bury his fist into them repeatedly.

"You don't tell me to stop. Ever," he growled.

He went to hit her again when Colt ran into the room, "Phil, we've had a breech. South side."

Punk looked down at Kendall suspiciously, "Did you or your precious little Barbie doll tell anyone where you were going?"

"No, Randy just told me he needed help. That's what I told John," Kendall said quickly.

"Are you sure?" he demanded.

"I swear, I didn't tell anyone. I doubt Randy would tell anyone, he wouldn't want anything more to happen to his family," she told him, the bitterness in her voice wasn't missed by him or Colt.

"Good. Colt, tell the others to take care of it. Kitten and I are going to leave tonight," Punk announced.

Kendall's breath caught in her throat, "Where are we going?"

"Home," he answered with a smile.

"I get to go home?" she questioned hopefully.

"To Chicago. You're coming home with me."

"To Chicago. You're coming home with me."

"But, I can't. I'm supposed to be eating dinner with John and Tasha and Sean. I told him I wouldn't be gone long. He's going to know that something is wrong if I don't go home. Please let me go home," she all but begged.

"The first person he'll look to is Randy. You left with him. Randy won't say a thing about me because he doesn't want anything to happen with his wife and daughter, who I must admit are both adorable. Although, neither of them holds a candle to you," Punk complimented.

Kendall rolled her eyes, "If they didn't hold a candle to me then he wouldn't have done this to me."

"Not only are you pretty and have a hot body but you're obedient. You'll listen to me. Sam was a piece of work, she wouldn't listen until we threatened that brat of hers," he said, ignoring her.

"You threatened Alanna?" she asked.

"We had to," Punk shrugged, "Now stand up. It's time to get in the car, before those fools get in here."

He pulled her up by her shoulders and bent down to unchain her. Kendall thought about kicking him as soon as she was free but she realize that she had no idea how to get out of the building. And even if she did, his men would catch her before she made it out anyway. Her only option was to hope that Randy told John soon.

"Let's go," Punk said, pulling her arm when she didn't make any effort to move on her own.

"I can't be with you," she told him as she struggled to keep up with his fast walk, "I'm married to John. I can't just leave him for no reason."

"Shut up, Kitten," he growled.

"Please, please Punk. Please don't do this," she pleaded.

He stopped suddenly, causing her to crash into him and fall to the floor. A voice called out to the two of them, one that sounded familiar to both of them and Punk immediately turned on Kendall. Her eyes widened as his narrowed at her. She wanted to back away from him but his gaze and her fear kept her paralyzed to the spot.

"You lied to me," he yelled and Kendall shook her head, "Don't tell me 'no'. You must have. How would he have known? Tell me Kitten! How would he have known?"

"I- I don't know. But I- I didn't tell him. I- I promise," Kendall told Punk still shaking her head.

He reached down and grabbed her by her hair, dragging her down the hallway. She cried out three times but got kicked in the back each time, getting the wind knocked out of her and pain shooting threw her body each time. Kendall decided it was a better idea to bit her lip instead of making noise. The only problem now was that she could hear him getting closer to them. He must have been running while Punk was dragging her and that couldn't have been very easy. If he could move just a little faster he'd be there.

When Kendall heard a door open and she felt herself being dragged out into the snow she cried out again, this time calling out for him. She wanted him to know that she needed him. And just as the door was closing she saw him. Punk pulled her to her feet then threw her onto a car, her face hitting the window. An instant headache all but blinded her and she cried for Punk to stop when she felt him pull her off the car.

One of his arms wrapped around her upper body, trapping in her arms, while the other reached around so his hand could cover her mouth and plug her nose. Her lungs started to burn the more she struggled, not getting enough oxygen and losing whatever she did have to her muscles. The second she heard the door opened she stopped moving, listening for her savior. She could hear the heavy footsteps but she wasn't sure if it was him or one of Punks men, until he called out to her.

Kendall screamed, sounding muffled from Punks hand, giving away their hiding spot. The only thing stopping her cry for help was Punk biting the side of her neck has hard as he could. Either he drew blood or he had drooled on her, whatever it was, was running down her neck. Just when she thought she was going to blackout from lack of oxygen, he let go of her nose and her savoir came into sight.

"Let her go," he demanded his blue eyes icy cold. Kendall's eyes widened when she saw the gun in his hand and when Punk didn't release her like he had asked, he cocked it.

"She doesn't want me to let her go. Do you Kitten?" Punk asked, mockingly. She tried to pull away from him, but he only held her tighter. "I said, _do you_?"

He uncovered her mouth and she cried out to her savior, "Johnny, please!"

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for Kitten," Punk growled.

"That's because she wants you to let her go. Now do it, before I have to kill you," John threatened.

"You wouldn't dare. Not with your precious Kendall right here. One wrong move and you'd hit her instead of me," Punk said with a smirk.

"Phil, I'm not going to tell you again. All of your men are down; you are the only one left. Now let her go and we'll let you go. We'll let you walk and we'll forget this ever happened. But if you don't let her go, I'll kill you and don't worry about me missing. I think we both know how good of a shot I am," John warned him.

Punk pushed Kendall away from him and she landed on the ground a few feet away from John. Her ribs were sore and she was still having trouble breathing, but the only thing that seemed to matter to her was that she was that much closer to John. She was that much closer to being safe.

"Whatever, I don't see why she means that much to you. We both know that once she pops out the kids you want, you'll be done with her. You'll get bored but you won't divorce her and you'll start the abuse again. Yada, yada, yada. It'll be just a load of fun if you ask me," Punk said sarcastically.

"Yeah, well nobody asked you, did they?"

"Johnny," Kendall called, bringing their attention back to her.

"Come on, Kendall. Let's go," he said, picking her up off the ground, cradling her in his arms carefully.

"Remember what I said, Kitten. In case you want a real man, I'll take you back. Even after he uses you," Punk taunted as they walked away.

**Kendall's POV**

I remember hearing Punk laughing as Johnny carried me away. Now I hear a lot of beeping. I don't want to open my eyes because I'm afraid that I dreamed up Johnny. I'm afraid that he wasn't real and that if I open them I'll be lying somewhere with Punk close by. I let myself take a deep breath and heard someone in the room take a sharp intake of their own.

"I think she's waking up," a low voice whispered.

I couldn't make out exactly who it was but the next voice I could, "Just let it come naturally. She'll wake up when she's ready to. We should have left right after they did. I can't believe we waited for that ten minutes to give Randy a head start."

I felt tears form in my eyes and I was glad they were closed. This was planned? Randy wasn't the only person in on it? I never thought my heart could hurt so much in all my life. I was sure it had broken into a million pieces when Randy traded me for Sam and Alanna, but now this. I can't handle this right now. I just- I can't even breathe.

The beeping started going crazy and my eyes shot wide open. I was panicking. Johnny's face was the first I found and as worried as his face looked and as much as I wanted to calm down, what I just heard made everything feel as if it was spinning out of control. When he married me, John all but promised he wouldn't use me as a pawn, but that's what happened. I was used as a pawn by my best friend. And now I don't know who to trust.

A nurse rushed in and shooed everyone out before putting a cool hand on my forehead. I could see her lips moving, soothing words coming out of her mouth but I couldn't hear any of it. Trying to take another breath in, I ended up coughing. The cough broke up out of my fog and the nurses words come into focus.

"It's alright sweetie. You're gonna be okay. Just take a deep breath in for me, yeah? If you don't I'll have to put the mask on ya. And let me tell ya, that mask isn't gonna be your best friend," the nurse teased, causing me to smile, "There we go. Are ya better now?"

I nodded, "What happened?"

"I'm not really sure sweetie. You're pretty beat up though. You've gotta couple cracked ribs and one of your shoulders was jammed. You've got some bruises here and there but they'll heal up just fine. The ribs are the main concern. Oh, and you have a concussion. You passed out on your way in and you've been out for a few hours or so," she explained.

"When can I go home?" I asked.

"I believe the doctor would like to keep you overnight for observation, simply because of your concussion and because you passed out almost instantly after acquiring it. Concussions are dangerous things and we don't want to mess with it, we want to make sure it isn't bad," she told me.

"But I want to go home tonight," I whined, "I just want to sleep in my own bed. I haven't been in it for two weeks."

"I'm sorry sweetie. I would love to let you sleep in your own bed, I understand how you feel. I have a fetish for my own bed as well. But we need to make sure this concussion isn't too serious," she said and I nodded, "Is there anything else, sweetie?"

"Well, I was just wondering who all was in here before I, ya know, had my little panic attack?" I asked, slightly embarrassed, "I mean, I saw my husband, but I didn't see anyone else. I heard some people but I couldn't quite tell who they were."

"Yes, John was here. I also think I saw a man with a lot of tattoos on his arms, a man who looked a lot like John just younger, a young girl with dark brown hair, and an older man," the nurse told me.

"That would be John, Randall, Sean, Tasha, and I'm not really sure," I said naming all the people she explained.

"He was wearing an expensive, flashy suit, grey hair. He had a funny kinda walk. He looked to be a father figure or a boss," she explained.

"Okay, I think I might know who he is," I said with a nod.

"Would you like me to let them in now?" she asked, laughing when I shook my head, "If it helps any, they really seem to care about you."

"Everyone except Randy. He's not allowed."

She nodded slowly, obviously not understanding my request that came out more like a demand than I had meant for it to be. There was a dagger sticking out of my chest and everyone I cared about seemed to be taking turns pulling it out and stabbing it back in. Not one of them cared about how I felt, not one of them cared about how this plan of theirs would affect me. They only cared about getting Randy's precious family back. To hell with what happened to me in the process. I can guarantee that neither of them ended up in the hospital and I know for a fact that Sam argued with Punk because he told me. I didn't argue. I didn't fight. I did everything he told me to and I still ended up here.

"Oh my god, Kendall!" Tasha yelled as she ran into the room.

The noise made my head pound and I closed my eyes at the sudden intrusion, "Hi Tasha," I whispered.

"What? What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's nothing. I just have a bit of a headache, that's all," I told her.

"Oh god. I'm sorry. I was just so worried about you and I needed to know that you were alright and then when you couldn't breathe I started panicking and-"

"Tasha, it's okay. I couldn't breathe because I was panicking, so stop. I'm fine," I assured her, forcing a smile on my face.

John and Sean walked in the room, followed by an older man with an expensive, flashy suit. And just like the nurse said he was walking funny. His arms swinging wide and his strides even wider, I had to stifle a laugh.

"Priceless," John said, calling my attention back to him, "This is Vince McMahon."

"Kendall, I'm so sorry that these are the circumstances we have to meet under. Please believe me when I tell you that we are dealing with Phil and his men, as well as the way Randy handled things," Vince told me and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

They weren't going to tell me. They were going to go along with the whole 'Randy used me but kept his promise to tell John where I was' story. Did they really think I was that stupid? If that were the case then how the hell did they get there so fast? Randy had barely left when Colt came in and told Punk about the breech. Whatever, they can think whatever the hell they want to think.

"I wanna go home," I complained, looking at John.

"I know sweetie. You can go home tomorrow, that's what the doctor said. I'm gonna have Sean take Tiny home though. She still has school in the morning," he told me.

"I ruined dinner. I'm such an idiot, I shouldn't have gone with him," I said, trying to make him feel guilty.

"No, Priceless, don't think like that. It's not your fault, you couldn't have known. You trusted him," he tried to comfort me.

"I should know by now not to trust anyone."


	22. Chapter 22

**John's POV**

"How long has she been like this?" Randy asked, his voice hushed.

I looked over at Kendall and sighed, "On and off since she got out of the hospital. Some days are better than others."

He growled at me, "Three months? What is wrong with you? Have you even thought about trying to get her some sort of help?"

I sighed again. She'd become so reclusive and angry. The only time she wasn't angry was when she was texting and if I'd ask who she was talking to she would glare at me. She won't tell me why she's upset but the only thing I can think of is because of Randy. She still thinks it was his idea, using her to get Sam and Alanna back. Vince thought we should maybe tell her the truth, but Randy and I both think that might make her even more upset.

"Because getting her help is going to do anything?" I asked, "She needs to know the truth. But she won't believe it coming from me."

"So I'm supposed to tell her that it was your dad's idea? That's a great idea, she's definitely going to trust you after I tell her that," he told me sarcastically.

"Look, this is the only way we'll get her out of this funk she's in. It's the only thing that could be bothering her. Hell, it's the only thing that's happened to her," I ran a hand over my face. This needed to work, Kendall was hurting and she wasn't letting me help her. She wasn't letting anyone help her, other than whomever she was texting all the time.

She smiled as she looked at her phone and I shook my head. "Randy I would give anything to be the reason she is smiling. And I know that I didn't just text her."

"What do you want me to do?" he asked again, "I'm already the bad guy. What am I supposed to do? Tell her and be even more the bad guy for lying to her in the first place and going with the whole idea?"

"I didn't want to do it either! I didn't want to use her either, remember? I was the one yelling about it over the phone, but since I wasn't at the meeting in person, I got no say. So now we're here and my wife isn't speaking to me unless she's asking me what I want for dinner," I growled at him.

"You're not getting any are you?" he asked with a smirk, then laughed when I glared at him, "Oh my god, you aren't. That's the real reason you're so pissed about this whole, Ken doll being a recluse. It's because you aren't getting any sex."

"Actually I am getting some, not that it's any of your damn business," I sneered.

"You're kidding right? Are you cheating on her? Because if you are I'm going to have to fucking kill you," he said.

"No, I am not cheating on her. God, Randy why do you always think the worst of me. For your information, Kendall and I have a very healthy sex life. She may be totally ignoring me and the outside world but she's not ignoring her duties as my wife," I assured him.

"Damn you Cena. That's your issue. You think that as long as you get off your marriage will be fine, but it won't."

"What is he doing here?" Kendall asked as she walked into the front room from the living room.

"Ken doll, I think we need to talk," Randy said slowly.

She glared at him then at me, "What is he doing here?"

"We really do need to talk, Priceless. You can't walk around like you have been. You are so, I don't even know how to explain it, you're just-"

"Dead inside?" she asked, "Yeah, well that's kind of how I feel. How about you be completely be betrayed by the people you thought cared about you. Let's see how you come back, hmm?"

"Okay, you don't need to be so snippy, Ken doll," Randy scolded. I didn't fail to notice the slight change in her demeanor. She actually relaxed when he'd asked her to.

"My name is Kendall," she growled.

"Fine, Kendall. We really do need to talk about this, though," I told her.

"Why do we need to talk about it?" she asked me, "You weren't involved in it. Were you?"

"I think this is where I come in," Randy said, "Why don't we go for a walk or something."

"Randal, the last time I went anywhere with you, I ended up spending the night in the hospital," she reminded him.

"We aren't leaving the house. I was just thinking about going outside, maybe in the backyard. Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise," he said.

"Your promises mean nothing to me. You've promised me a lot and you've broken all of your promises, so you'll have to forgive me when I tell you that I don't care about anything that you'll have to tell me," she snapped.

"Kendall, just listen to him. For Christ's sake, stop being a bitch and see what he has to say," I yelled, finally losing my patience that has been building over the past three months. Kendall jumped and her jaw snapped shut, nodding quickly.

She walked outside, slamming the door behind her and I shook my head. Randy took a deep breath before following her. I probably shouldn't have yelled at her, mostly because I know I scared her and with her already being so, I don't even know how to explain it, fragile I guess, right now, it wasn't right for me to yell at her like that.

"I think she already knows," a voice came from behind me.

I turned around to see Tiny.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, it's just that, we've been thinking this whole time that she was upset with Randy. We thought she believed that it was all Randy. What if she knew all along that it wasn't Randy? I mean, she wouldn't be pushing all of us away, including me, if she were only upset with Randy," Tiny explained.

"Are you sure? I had thought that before, but then I figured it was because of what Phil did to her," I admitted.

She laughed, "John, do you have any clue what she went through when she lived at her parents' house? Do you have any idea what her brothers did to her? It was much, much worse than what Punk did to her."

**Randy's POV**

"So, what exactly are you supposed to be telling me right now?" Kendall asked me.

"First, lose the attitude. Second, you know what I'm supposed to be telling you. I texted you about it last night," I told her, "Speaking of texting, you were texting someone earlier and it was not me."

"Sorry, I'm just annoyed and stressed. And yeah, I know. I'm living with a bunch of liars," she said rolling her eyes.

"You haven't been much better on the lying front."

"Hey, I didn't start lying until he did, Randy. And what do you expect me to do? Accept the fact that he let my best friend lie to me? Accept the fact that he put my life in danger? Accept the fact that he didn't want to tell me the truth that he wanted to go on letting me believe that you lied to me?" she asked, the frustration apparent in her voice.

"Kens, listen, I know you're upset. But you have to know that he did what he thought was best at the time-"

"Oh, so it was best that I get my ass kicked? It was best that I get put in the hospital?" she demanded.

"That's not what I was talking about. And he honestly didn't believe that you'd get hurt," I insisted.

She rolled her eyes again, "The funny part is that Sam argued with him. She argued up and down and he only threatened Alanna. Now, I ask him to stop and he cracks my ribs. How lucky am I?"

I sighed. She'd been like this since she called me, it was two weeks after she was released from the hospital, and demanded to know what really happened. She told me about the conversation she overheard in the hospital and that she was hoping that John might fill her in, that he might tell her the truth. When he never did, she turned to me and we'd been talking ever since. The person she'd been texting, or so I thought, had been me.

"Who were you texting earlier, Kens? John and I saw you texting earlier?" I asked.

"Is he spying on me now?" she asked, exasperated, "God this is getting ridiculous. First he calls in the troops, trying to get me to talk and now he's spying one me. It won't surprise me if he starts checking me phone records next."

"Are you purposefully ignoring my question?"

"Yes," she said honestly.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to answer it."

"Why not?"

"Because I know you won't like my answer," she told me.

"Kendall Grace, you tell me right now who you were texting or I'm going inside and I'm telling John the truth," I threatened.

"Go ahead and do it, that's not going to make me tell you anything," she smirked.

"What will make you tell me?" I asked.

"How'd he get you here? And how long are you going to be here?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"He asked me to come help him with you. Said you were going through a really bad time after the whole thing with Punk. He thinks you're taking it hard because it was my fault. I'll be here as long as you need me here, Kens," I answered.

"I'm going to need you for a little bit more than six months," she whispered.

My head snapped up as I realized what she was telling me. Her eyes were filled with tears and she looked so scared. I opened my arms and she immediately walked into them. I felt her shaking against me and all I could do was hold her. After everything she's been through, the bastard had to get her pregnant?

"Does John know about it?" I asked.

"No, I don't know how to tell him. I mean, I just got it confirmed last week and besides the doctor and the nurse, you're the only person who knows. I just don't know how to say it," she admitted.

"He'll be happy. He wants this," I assured her.

"I know."

"Then what's the problem? What is there to be afraid of? He isn't going to leave you because you're pregnant," I said.

She sighed and pulled out of my arms. "A lot can happen in three months, Randy."

"Kendall, what are you saying?"

"You asked who I was texting earlier," she started and I nodded, "I met someone. And I really like him. He's a great guy and he's got a great job, although you wouldn't like it so much. He doesn't come from the best family or the best background, but he made his own way and now he's at the top."

"Kendall what are you telling me? Because I don't really think I like what I'm hearing right now," I told her.

She smiled guiltily, "To be perfectly honest, if I weren't married, I could see myself dating this guy. Then I could see myself falling in love with him and I could see him asking me to marry him. I could see us growing old together and just being all together happy with each other. And the best part about my fantasy, is that none of it would be forced, none of it would be fake."

"How much of your life does he know about? How much of our lives does he know about?" I asked.

"He knows what he thinks he needs to know. And he thinks he knows all of it. I'm not stupid Randy. I'm not going to tell someone on the outside what our families do, especially not someone in his line of work," she told me.

"What does he do?" I needed to know as much about this kid as I could. I knew she wouldn't tell me everything, but as long as I got general information and she kept me updated on their 'relationship' then things would be just fine.

"You won't be happy."

"Damn it, Kens. I'm not happy right now. Just tell me what he does," I growled.

She looked at her feet, "He's a cop."

"A what?" I yelled, "You're talking to a fucking pig? Kendall what the hell is wrong with you? No, this stops here!"

**Kendall's POV**

Randy's yelling distracted me momentarily. I didn't see him walking inside and I didn't realize that what he meant by 'this stops here' was that he was going to tell John. And by the time that little piece of information clicked in my head, it was too late. I'd just gotten inside when I heard then yelling from the kitchen. It was indistinct of course, because both men were screaming at the same time. But the next thing I heard was pretty clear.

"Kendall!" John yelled. I'm pretty sure that if we had neighbors, they would have heard it even if they had their headphones on and their music turned all the way up.

I slowly walked into the kitchen, staying in the doorway when I saw John's chest heaving. I knew he was angry. I shouldn't have told Randy about Alex. I just thought that maybe he'd understand, maybe he'd care that I'd finally found someone who actually cares about me.

"Give me your phone," John said, his voice unnaturally calm for the anger expressed on his face.

"Why?" I squeaked out, jumping when he slammed his fist on the counter.

"Kendall, give me the damn phone," he repeated.

I couldn't not be scared. I hadn't had the chance to delete the last few messages Alex had sent me and I definitely couldn't do that right now. Not just that, when John was angry, but his voice was calm that was probably the scariest times of my life. Nothing good would happen when he was like this.

"Tell him your other news, Kendall," Randy interrupted, breaking the stare off between John and me.

I looked at him, wanting to absolutely kill him for doing this to me. "Randy stop," I whispered, the only thing I could do to keep my voice from breaking.

"What other news?"

I smirked, if Randal wanted to play that game, I could too. "I already knew that it wasn't Randy's idea. The whole use Kendall as a pawn to get Sam and Alanna back. I've known since that night. And I've been talking to Randy since I got out of the hospital."

"You're fucking kidding me right?" John asked, "Is lying your damn specialty now or something?"

"I guess I just learn from the best, huh?"

"Randy I think it's time you leave. I need to have a discussion with my wife. In private," John announced.

"John, Kendall has one more thing to-"

"I think she's said more than enough for one day," John interrupted.

"But I think you're really going to want to hear this-"

"I think I really don't care."

"Before you do anything stupid you'll want to know that-"

"I want you to get out of my house now!" John yelled.

I jumped. John was only getting angrier and the longer Randy stayed here arguing, the angrier he would get. Randy shot me a look, one that told me to tell John right away, before anything happens to me or the baby. But honestly, I wasn't that worried about it. I mean, John promised me that he wouldn't hit me anymore and so far he's kept good on that promise.

We heard the door shut but I still couldn't look at John. I didn't want to see the anger, I could already feel enough of it. We stood there in silence with him staring at me so hard that he was burning a whole into my skin. Subconsciously, I placed my hands on my stomach. I noticed I'd been doing that a lot lately.

"How long?" John asked, breaking the silence, "How long have you been cheating one me?"

"I'm not!" I insisted as I shook my head.

"Don't lie to me Kendall!" he yelled again, "For months, you've been texting someone. It's the only time you're happy. You don't talk to me, you barely talk to Tasha. You've totally closed yourself off. Then Randy says you've been talking to some cop. What the hell is going through your fucking head? Do you know how that can fuck shit up?"

"I'm not lying! And I'm not cheating! I swear. We're just talking. He's just a friend, that's it. Nothing has happened and nothing is going to happen. And we don't even talk about my family or your family. Heck we don't even talk about his family. We just talk," I told him.

"Do you have feelings for him?" he demanded.

"John, that's not really important. I already told you, nothing happened and nothing is going to happen. It's just nice to have a friend to talk to every once in a while," I said sadly.

"Answer the damn question, Kendall," he growled, "Do you have feelings for this idiot or not?"

"He isn't an idiot, John. He's my friend. God, this conversation is pointless!" I sighed as I walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs.

"Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!"

My phone started ringing and I knew who it was just because of the ringtone. He'd programmed it as _Inevitable_ by Anberlin. Answering it would cause problems, but we didn't get to talk on the phone very often because of how busy he was at work.

"Hello?" I whispered as I answered.

"_Hey sweetie,"_ he said back.

"Hi," I said.

"_Why are you whispering?" _he asked.

"Long story. I can't talk very long-"

"Kendall! We need to finish this conversation, now!" John yelled, walking up the stairs.

"_Are you okay?"_ Alex asked me. It had become his go-to question. It would sum up everything he needed to ask me when he didn't have enough time to ask it.

"I will be. I'll explain everything later, I promise. A lot has happened and I really need to talk to you but I'm kind of busy right now and-"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" John demanded, "Who are you talking to?"

"N-no one," I lied.

"You're talking to him, aren't you?" he said with a disbelieving laugh as he opened up the bathroom door.

"_He knows about me?" _Alex asked.

"I'll, uhm, talk to you later," I said hanging up the phone.

"I can't believe you'd go and call him when we were talking! Did you think by hiding in the bathroom that I wouldn't know you were talking to him?" he yelled.

"I didn't call him, he called me. He would have gotten worried if I didn't answer," I replied.

"It's not his job to worry about you, Kendall! It's my job! You are my wife, not his!"

"And he knows that. And he hates you because of that!" I yelled back without thinking.

"So you do have feelings for him. That's fine, go ahead and leave me. But I swear to God if you tell him anything that will fuck with my family I will kill him and I will kill you," John said.

"John, you can't really-"

"No, I can. Get your shit and get the fuck out of my house," he told me, leaving the room.

"I can't leave," I whispered.

He turned around and glared at me. The venom in his eyes made me take a step back. "Why not? You obviously don't want to be here, so get out."

"John please just, wait," I pleaded trying so hard not to cry, "I- I'm p-pregnant."


	23. Chapter 23

**John's POV**

"I- I'm p-pregnant."

I rolled my eyes, "Of course you are."

"What?" she looked at me, confusion in her eyes.

"You would use that as some stupid lie to stay here. If anything, you just want to live here because it's free. Your stupid little cop doesn't have nearly as much money as I do so he can't spoil you like I do, can he?" I asked.

"John, I'm not lying! And I already told you, he's just a friend!" she said.

"Yeah, well I don't really believe you. And even if you were pregnant it's probably not even mine. I wonder how long it took for him to get in your pants. You've been talking to him for about three months I'm guessing, because that's when you started pulling away from us, which would give you the perfect amount of time to fuck him and get pregnant," I smirked.

"Please stop. I didn't cheat on you. I have never had sex with any other man since I've been married to you and I don't plan on it. But you told me I could have friends, John. You told me that I could speak to people on the outside, as long as I didn't tell them about us. Well, I haven't told him anything about us-"

"Kendall, he already knows too much! He is most likely just using you to get information on either your family or mine. Are you seriously that blind to see that? He doesn't want you, he only wants to take down our families!" I shouted.

"He does to want me," she whispered, "He cares about me, which is more than I can say for you."

"No he doesn't. If your last name wasn't DiBiase he wouldn't have looked twice at you," I taunted, knowing I hit a nerve.

"That's not true."

"It is and you know it. Give me one good reason why he would want you. He's a God damn cop, Kendall. His job is to take us down," I pointed out, "When did you meet him?" When she looked at her feet I shouted, "When?"

"He was one of the men that questioned me about Punk," she answered.

"Point proven. He only wants to take our families down-"

"That's not true! He hasn't asked one thing about our families! We never talk about my family or yours and he has never once asked. He doesn't care about any of that," she said, but by her tone I could tell that she was only trying to make herself believe it.

"That's what he wants you to think Kendall. And because you're so damn naïve you'll believe him and when you least expect it he'll ask and you'll spill everything. He doesn't want you, he's only using you," I told her.

"Stop it-"

"Stop telling you the truth? You've been begging for the truth for the past three months. Isn't that why you've been sulking around here?" I asked.

"No, I've been sulking because I already know the truth. Because you lied to me and you were going to continue to lie to me and you acted like it didn't matter. I heard you talking that night in the hospital, I was awake when you said that you shouldn't have waited those ten minutes. That's why I couldn't breathe, that's why I had a panic attack. You planned all of it, you knew it was going to happen and you didn't tell me-"

"I didn't plan anything!" I shouted.

"But you knew and you didn't say a thing! John you promised me before we got married that I wouldn't have to be a distraction anymore. You promised me and I believed you. You made me trust you and you made me care about you. With all of your faults, you've always kept your promises to me, except this one," Kendall said. She swiped angrily at her eyes, tears betraying her as they fell.

"I didn't want to do it, Priceless. You have to believe that! I told them no, I argued with them and so did Sean. We both told them that it was a bad idea but they didn't listen," I told her, taking a step towards her as my anger went away.

"I don't know what to believe anymore," she admitted, "If I hadn't found out, would you ever have told me? I mean, if I hadn't been so upset, would you have told me eventually the truth?"

"If you had believed that it really was Randy, would you have been this upset?" I asked and she shook her head, "Then no, probably not. I wouldn't have wanted you to be angry with us."

"You mean you wouldn't have wanted me to be angry with you," she said, calling me out.

I walked to her and tried to wrap my arms around her but she jerked away and shook her head, "Please don't."

"What the fuck, Kendall?"

"We have other things to talk about while I'm still talking to you," she admitted.

"Like what?" I asked, my voice dripping with annoyance.

"I found out some interesting things when I went to the doctors last week," she started.

"Like what?" I asked again.

"Well for starters, I'm about 8 weeks pregnant and if you really want to play the game of 'I'm just saying that to stay here' have Marc check my records again, you seem to like doing that," she spat.

"Oh don't be a bitch Kendall. If you had been in my situation you probably would have done the same damn thing," I growled.

"No I probably wouldn't have," she muttered, "Anyway 8 weeks is about 2 months, so congratulations you're going to be a dad in about 7 months."

"Is it even mine?" I asked under my breath.

"I hate you so much, John," she glared at me, "I haven't had sex with anyone other than you since we've been married. Since before we've been married. I don't know how many times I have to tell you. No, ya know what, I'm done explaining myself to you. Another thing I found out at the doctor is that I have a lot of things in common with the lady behind the desk."

"Will you ever be anything less than elusive?" I asked rolling my eyes, "Who was the lady behind the desk?"

"Actually I'd rather see if you can figure it out, so I'll give you hints. Hint number one, we both hate her husband." I shook my head, indicating I didn't know who it was. "Okay, well I guess he's her ex-husband, but you still don't get it do you? Well, hint number two, we both were at the OB-GYN. Me, to find out that I was pregnant and her to work." Oh shit. "Getting somewhere? Let's see. Hint number three, we both have sex with my husband."

**Kendall's POV**

He swallowed hard and took a step back, looking so much like a deer in headlights. I could only smirk at him, I'd known for a week and I'd been trying to figure out how to tell him I knew. This just seemed like the right time. He was right, I hadn't been talking to him very much, if at all and I knew that this was my fault. I pushed him away, I pushed him to her, but even though I knew that, it didn't make the pain any less.

John cleared his throat, "What are you talking about Kendall?"

"Please don't play innocent with me, I already know so there really isn't any point in lying about it. Just tell me which of us you want so I can get on with my life," I countered, trying my best to put on a brave face. I didn't want him to see how badly this was hurting me, how I could feel myself falling to pieces on the inside.

"What do you mean 'which of us you want'? You're my wife, Kendall-"

"Yes but obviously I've not been enough for you," I interrupted, raising my voice before shaking my head and chuckling a bit, "Ya know, the funny part is that I told you this would happen. Do you remember what you told me? Because I believe your exact words were 'I'm not going to cheat on you' and yet here we are three months later."

"You're such a hypocrite. It's perfectly fine for you to cheat on me, but the second you find out I had sex with Stephanie you flip a lid?" he asked.

"I never once had sex with him. He is a friend. We talk that is it, we don't even kiss. So don't walk around here calling me a hypocrite, John. You're the one sleeping with the ex-wife of the man who molested me; obviously you couldn't care less about your own damn family. So I'll ask you again, her or me because I will not stay with you if you're going to still be with her," I told him.

"I couldn't care less about my family? You have got to be kidding me, Kendall. You're the one who has been walking around here like no one else exists. You ignore all of us and poor Tasha thinks you hate her, too. The only person you talk to anymore is that damn person you text all the time and I'm about ready to throw your phone out the window," he yelled, taking a step towards me.

"Why should I talk to any of you? You all lied to me. You used me, John, and I ended up in the hospital. I trusted you, but I'm not going to let you hurt me anymore. And now I have more than just myself to think about-"

"You think I'd hurt my own child? I've told you before that I wouldn't and I told you what I'd do if they did aggravate me beyond belief," he smirked as he took another step towards me. Now he was scaring me. He hadn't been like this in a long time and he'd told me he wasn't going to do it again. Why had I believed him?

I stepped back, but ended up running into the wall. When I looked back at John he was closer than I'd expected and I tried to side step away from him. Of course he mirrored my movements quickly, although he never quite touched me he leaned into me, letting his hands rest on either side of my head.

"You're not leaving me," John said, his voice eerily calm, "You will stay, regardless of whether I sleep with Stephanie or not. It's your fault her husband is gone in the first place, so really you should just deal with the consequences. Do you understand?"

"I'm not going to stay in a marriage where I get cheated on-"

His fist slamming into the wall next to my head stopped me from going any further. I was trying so hard to keep my composure in front of him but I knew that if he didn't leave me alone soon I'd crack. My mind was reeling; I couldn't understand why he was being so cruel.

"I'm also taking you're phone away-"

"John you can't do that!" I interrupted.

"I can do anything I damn well please, Kendall. You're done talking to your little cop friend. He doesn't want you; he probably doesn't even care about you. He'll forget about you in a week," he said, "No more cop. No more Randy, unless I am right there. If you need to go somewhere outside of the house one of my brothers will be taking you or I will. Do I make myself clear?"

"No, I won't do it," I said firmly, "I am not a child that you can put on punishment."

"Then how about I make it a little easier for you to comprehend. You do what I say or you're going to your dad and he can deal with you. And I'll even tell him about your little cop friend," he proposed, smirking when he saw my eyes widen, "Do I make myself clear now?"

I lowered my head, accepting defeat, "Yes."

"Good girl," he said patting my head, "Now I'm hungry. Go make me some dinner."

He pushed himself off the wall and walked out of the bathroom whistling, while I slid to the floor. Did that really just happen? Everything was literally falling apart and John was letting it. I sat on the floor, my arms wrapped around my stomach as if I was trying to protect this baby from its father. John may have told me that he wouldn't hurt our children but I wasn't apt to believing a thing that came out of his mouth lately.

"I want dinner!" John yelled breaking me out of my thoughts. His voice vibrated the house, or maybe it just felt that way.

"Make your own dinner," Tasha yelled back, laughing. They'd grown close while I'd pulled away, but I think it would have happened anyway.

I stood up quickly, checking my face in the mirror to make sure it didn't look like I'd been crying too much. Keeping John waiting when he was already so angry with me wouldn't be a good idea, so I went down to the kitchen and began looking through the cupboards. Everything I'd pick up, however, would make my stomach queasy. That's the way it's been for the past month or so. It's what tipped me off and made me make a doctor's appointment in the first place.

"So, what's for dinner?" Tasha asked as her and Sean came bouncing in the kitchen.

"Um, I'm not sure yet," I answered weakly as I put back a box of hamburger helper, "What, uh, what sounds good to you guys?"

"I don't know," Tasha said with a shrug.

"Well, can you think of something that is quick to make?" I suggested, "Because I think John wants to eat now."

"Oh tell John to go to hell," Sean responded, "I'm thinking that taco casserole that you make, Ken. With the chips and cheese mixed in. Ya know what I'm talking about?"

My stomach flipped again, "Uh yeah. I think I can do that. I'll just, uhm, I've got to-"

What the heck, I thought it was morning sickness, not all day long sickness.

**Tasha's POV**

Sean and I sat there confused as Kenny ran out of the kitchen. What was her problem lately? I'm pretty sure this was the most she's talked to any of us since she got out of the hospital. She had every right to be upset with us though. We betrayed her trust.

When Kendall came back she looked pale and sick. Something was wrong and she wasn't telling us about it. She hadn't been eating very much lately and now she was throwing up.

"Ken, are you sick?" Sean asked.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Did you just throw up?"

"Yes."

"Then you're sick."

"No."

"Damn it, Kendall. What the fuck is wrong with you?" I yelled. Kendall jumped and looked down at her feet. When she went to answer I held my hand up and continued, "I get that you're pissed because they used you and John said he wouldn't but that doesn't give you the right to be pissed at the people who had no control over it. You've been walking around here like a damn zombie only caring where your phone is. And God forbid you lose it because the world will fucking end if you do. I'm sick of it. I did nothing to be treated like this and I'm not going to let you treat me like this anymore."

She looked up at me and I could see tears in her eyes as she nodded, "I know. I know it wasn't your fault and I'm sorry for the way I've treated you. There's no excuse for it, I was just angry."

"Is dinner ready yet?" John asked as he walked into the kitchen.

I noticed Kendall tense as I answered, "No, we were trying to figure out what we wanted for dinner when Ken-"

"When I agreed with Sean to make taco casserole," Kendall said quickly, not letting me tell John that she'd gotten sick.

"Oh that stuff with the chips and cheese mixed in it?" John asked. Kendall gripped the counter and took quick, deep breaths, not that John noticed any of it. "That sounds good."

"Um, okay. I'll, uh, throw that together really quick," she said, her voice shaking.

"I'll help!" I suggested, "Why don't you guys go do something not in the kitchen?"

I pushed Sean towards the door, hoping he'd get the clue that I wanted them out of the kitchen so that I could talk to Kendall without John there. But of course John had other ideas.

"I'd rather stay and watch," he said, "What else goes into this casserole besides chips and cheese?"

This time Kendall didn't try to ease off whatever sickness hit her, she just ran straight for the bathroom. I shot John a look but even he looked worried. If she was sick and he didn't know about it, then shit was about to hit the fan. When she came back she looked even paler than before.

"Is this because-"John started but was interrupted.

"Yes."

"I thought that was only-"

"Apparently not," Kendall interrupted again.

"Are you sure you can make dinner? If not we can call in for something?" he offered.

"What's going on?" I asked, "Kenny, are you sick?"

"No, Tasha, I'm not sick," she answered looking me in the eyes.

"Then what is it?" Kendall looked at John who smirked back at her and I knew what was wrong. "No, you're not."

"Yes we are," John said proudly, still smirking. I would have given anything to smack that look off his face. My mind was conflicted because I knew that I should be on Kendall's side and be angry with John for forcing her to have children with him. But part of me was happy because this meant that I would still have the opportunity to have a good life and a good job and go to a great college.

"We'll order something in," I said decisively, "What sounds good to you, Ken?"

She laughed bitterly, "Anything without cheese."

"How about Chinese?" Sean suggested. We watched her think for a minute before nodding her head and walking out to get a menu. I slapped John upside his head.

"You're an ass."

"And she's been talking to another guy so how about you keep your nose out of my marriage," he said glaring at me.

I gasped as I took in what he just told me. That didn't make any sense to me. No, Kendall wouldn't do that. She'd never cheat on her husband. At least the Kendall I know wouldn't, would she? I also thought that Kendall wouldn't push me away for something I didn't do, but she's done that twice.

"Did I mention he's a cop?" he added.


	24. Chapter 24

**Kendall's POV**

"Do you mind?" I growled.

"No, not really," John responded.

"Can you please stop groping me?" I asked as he splayed his hands across my stomach, "I'm trying to sleep."

"Then close your eyes and go to sleep," he shot back.

"I can't sleep when you're touching me, John," I complained. We were lying in bed after a large dinner of Chinese that I actually kept down after throwing up twice. And that was actually a lie, I had a harder time falling asleep when he wasn't touching me than when he was, I just didn't want him to know that.

"You used to be able to fall asleep when I was touching you. And besides, I just want to feel my son," he said rolling me onto my back.

I shook my head, "First, you can't feel the baby yet. Second, you have no idea if it's a boy or a girl. And third, that was before when I actually-"I stopped myself before I said something stupid. He didn't need to know anything.

"When you actually what, Kendall?" he pried.

"Nothing, John."

"When you actually weren't cheating on me?" he asked.

"I'm not cheating on you!" I all but yelled.

This was getting out of hand. All throughout dinner he'd dropped not-so-subtle hints about there being 'another man' in my life. I wanted to backhand him so hard. So I retaliated the only way I could, I dropped a few not-so-subtle hints about Stephanie; yeah he ended up yelling at me at dinner. At one point he actually tried threatening to send me to bed.

"Sure you aren't. What would you call your little cop, then?" he mused.

"He's a friend. We talk, that's it. He asks me how I'm doing, how my day went. He's nice to me and-"

"And you sleep with him in return?"

"Did you know that stress can lead to miscarriages?" I asked suddenly, when John looked confused I went on, "A miscarriage is when a pregnant woman loses the baby because her body cannot properly care for it."

"Where are you getting at, Kendall?" he asked impatiently.

"You are stressing me the fuck out."

His smirk only made me feel worse as he scooted down the bed so that his face was level with my stomach. "Did you here that? You're mother thinks I'm stressing her the fuck out. Apparently she doesn't know how strong we Cena men are, huh? That's okay; you'll learn soon enough that she's just a bitch anyway."

My body instantly turned cold when he said that. For some reason that I couldn't wrap my brain around, his words could wound me in ways no one else could. I looked straight up at the ceiling, refusing to react any further to what he'd said. Wanting nothing more than to stop caring what John said to me or thought about me, I pushed him off and rolled away again. His stupid chuckle told me he was done torturing me for the night and I allowed myself to close my eyes, wishing he was still holding me.

###

John left for work the next morning without bothering me too much, although the stupid smirk he sent me as he walked out the door made me suspicious of his intentions. I waited for an hour after Tasha left for school to pick up the house phone. Apparently John wasn't as smart as he thought he was.

Knowing that if I got caught I'd be in a ton of trouble, I felt that I at least owed Alex a phone call to tell him I wasn't allowed to talk to him anymore. My heart didn't want to believe what John said about Alex not really wanting me for me, only wanting me for information on my family, but my mind was telling me to think rationally. If I took a minute to look at the situation from another person's perspective, John's assumption could be true. But I didn't want him to be right; I refused to accept that he was right. I refused to let him break my heart again.

The phone ringing through brought me out of my thoughts and the usual butterflies I had gotten used to feeling whenever we'd talk or meet up for lunch made their way to my stomach. I couldn't help but smile when he answered the phone.

"_Hello?"_

"It's me," I replied, "Listen, I have some kind of bad news and I'm really not sure how to say it."

"_Just say it, Kendall. That's usually the easiest way,"_ he told me, _"Are you okay?"_

"It's just that, well. John kind of found out that I've been talking to you and he's forbidden me to talk to you anymore. He's even taken my cell phone away and I'm not allowed to leave the house unless I'm supervised," I blurted out in one breath.

"_He what?" _Alex shouted, _"What do you mean he found out about you've been talking to me?"_

"Well, it's kind of a long story. But I told someone I thought I could trust and he kind of freaked out when I told him you were-"

"_Kendall, don't say you told him I was a cop,"_ he warned.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I thought I could trust him," I said.

"_Damn it! Do you realize that you have totally screwed up my operation?"_ he growled through the phone.

I felt my breath catch in my throat when he said that and if it were even possible another piece of my heart broke. John was right. And I will never admit that out loud to his face, but he was right. Alex didn't care about me.

"O-operation?" I asked, my voice cracking as it tried to break through the lump in my throat.

"_Oh, um. It's nothing that you need to be concerned with-"_

That's when I saw red. He lied to me, made me trust him, made me believe that he was the real deal, only to let me fall again. "No, Alex. What operation?" I asked, suddenly finding my voice.

"_I said it's nothing, Kendall."_

"I'm sure it'll be nothing when my husband shows up at your house because he thinks you seduced his wife, too," I threatened.

"_I never slept with you,"_ he growled again.

"He doesn't know that. He thinks we've been getting down and dirty since I got out of the hospital. So unless you have a death wish, you'll tell me what the fuck it was you were planning," I growled back at him.

"_We plan on taking out McMahon and his cronies, which includes Cena,"_ he relented.

"And you needed me why?" I asked, silently berating myself for falling for his act.

"_We needed someone on the inside to give us information. You had just been used as a pawn by your best friend; we figured you'd be willing to give us something. When you didn't open up to me, we thought maybe we could sneak in and take stuff but your husband has that place locked up tighter than the white house,"_ Alex said.

"Kendall, I think it's time for you to hang up the phone," an angry voice from behind me said.

**John's POV**

My wife thought I was ignorant. I knew she'd try something, I just didn't know what which is why I didn't go to work. She didn't even hear me come back inside because she was too busy on the phone. Kendall was sitting on the floor in the kitchen, leaning against the island counter.

"Damn it!" she yelled, throwing the phone at the wall.

"You don't have to break a perfectly good phone Kendall. I've already caught you, no use trying to get rid of the evidence," I said with a smirk.

Kendall looked up at me, her grey eyes shining with sadness. It took be a minute to realize that she was actually showing me emotion. Then it took me another minute to realize that she was upset and by that time she'd already recovered from her momentary slip.

"What are you doing home?" she asked.

"Don't try to change the subject. Who were you just talking to?"

"It doesn't matter. I won't be talking to them again," she said shaking her head.

"Kendall," I grunted, stepping towards her, "Did you call him?"

"Yes. And I won't be talking to him again."

"I told you no more!" I yelled.

"I know, I just felt like I owed it to him to at least tell him that I couldn't talk to him anymore," she whispered.

"What did he say?" I asked.

She looked up at me again this time keeping any emotion she was feeling out of her eyes, "He said that I screwed up his operation by telling Randy he was a cop."

"So I was right?"

"John, I'm really not in the mood to hear you said 'I told you so' right now. Okay? I just want to be left alone. It's really not you he wants anyway," she said.

"Who does he want then? And wait, how do you know what he wants?"

"I threatened to tell you that he seduced me," she said with a shrug, "I told him that you'd probably kill him if you knew that he seduced your wife that thought alone scared him."

"Kendall you need to look me in the eyes right now and tell me the truth. Did you sleep with this dumbass or not?" I asked.

"No, I didn't. I didn't even kiss him. We never did anything but talk. He took me out to lunch a few times and we talked a lot. That's it," she answered with honesty showing in her eyes.

"Okay. So what does he want? What was his operation about?"

"He was trying to take McMahon down, but to do that they need to take those around him down first. He thought that by going through me he could get to you and the Orton's and probably even my father. He said he tried to get in here but you keep the place 'locked up tighter than the white house', his words not mine," she explained, "that's where he got to when you walked in."

"Did you like him?" I pried, wanting to know how much this kid meant to her.

"John, I don't want to talk about him-"

"How much did you like him?"

"It really doesn't matter-"

"Could you see yourself falling in love with him? Maybe getting married someday? Having his babies? Could you see yourself being happy with him? Starting a family with him?" I taunted.

"Stop it!" she pleaded, "John, please stop it!"

"You could, couldn't you? I'll even bet that when you went out with him you were pretending he was your husband-"

"No!" she shouted, "That is something I never did."

"Why not? You obviously wanted him and you've never wanted me," I said.

"That's not true," she whispered.

"What's not true?"

"I did want you John! But you pushed me away and you broke almost every promise you've made to me. We've barely been married for four months and you've already cheated on me. You treat me like crap and you make me feel like I'm nothing. Why should I want you after that?' she asked.

"I pushed you away?" I yelled, "You pushed us away! Me, Tasha, Sean, even Eve. The only two people you apparently talked to were Randy and that cop. For three months the only relationship you and I have had was been purely physical. Forgive me if I felt like I needed a relationship that was more emotional."

"Oh, so having sex with Stephanie was an 'emotional' relationship for you?" she asked.

"It started out that way, yes. She was needed comforting after the divorce from Hunter and I was upset that my wife wasn't talking. One thing leads to another and we started sleeping together. I don't really see how any of this is your business though," I answered.

"Oh and that's another thing. Last night what you said about it being my fault that her and Hunter are getting divorced, I never asked you to send him away. So don't you ever blame that on me again you insensitive ass. And if it's not my business then let me leave," she said as she stood up, "Let me go. You don't want me here."

"Who said I didn't want you here?" I demanded.

"If you did you wouldn't be going to Stephanie for sex," she shrugged.

"You seem to be forgetting that you and I still have sex, Kendall."

"It's kind of hard to forget something like that when I have the proof growing inside of me. And while we're talking about that, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell my child that I'm a bitch," she said.

"And I wouldn't have told our child you were a bitch if hadn't threatened me with a damn miscarriage, Kendall," I growled, "I get that you don't want the baby, but I fucking do. So I am going to do everything in my power to make sure you have a healthy pregnancy."

"I want you to give up Steph. If I had to give up Alex, it's only fair that you give up her too," she bribed.

"Kendall, Alex would have screwed you over anyway so it doesn't really matter," I pointed out.

"Why do you have to ruin everything?"

"I'm not ruining anything; I'm only pointing out facts. He told you he used you for his operation, he didn't care about you so he would have screwed you over anyway. I'm not giving up great head just because you can't handle the fact that you can't pick someone to cheat on me with properly," I shrugged.

Her head whipped up and she glared at me, "I hate you so much, John. You are ruining everything. You're running my life!"

I shook my head, "The funny part is that I don't think you hate me as much as you want me to think you do. I don't even think hate me as much as you want to. You're trying so hard to hate my but you can't, can you?"

"Oh don't try to use reverse psychology on me, John. I do too hate-"

"If you did hate me, you would have slept with that cop, or anyone else, the first chance you had, Kendall."

"Is that why you slept with Stephanie?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.


	25. Chapter 25

**Kendall's POV**

"Is what I slept with Steph?" he demanded. I could tell he was getting frustrated and didn't want to even talk about it anymore, but I needed to know. I felt like I had a right to know what I had done wrong, other than push him away.

"Do you sleep with her because you hate me?" I asked quietly. I couldn't make myself look at him, mostly because I was afraid he wouldn't have to answer me.

"No."

"Then why did you do it?" I tried to keep my voice from sounding as pleading as I felt but I knew it came out just the same. He promised me he wouldn't cheat on me, he promised me he wouldn't use me as a pawn or a distraction, and he broke both those promises. My heart just wanted things to be okay again, it wanted things to be the way they were before everything with Punk. But my mind was telling me it wouldn't happen, my mind was telling me to think rationally and to protect myself better than I did with Alex.

"Because you weren't giving me what I needed," he answered with a shrug, "You closed yourself off to everyone and none of us knew what the hell was going on with you."

"I wasn't giving you what you needed? Do you mean emotionally? Because if I remember correctly you've been in my bed every night and most of those nights we haven't slept very much," I said.

"I may have been in our bed, but she's been in my office quite a few times. Only differences are that she gives me head and I use a condom with her," he shot back.

Finally, I'd heard enough. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry, I walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms. Locking the door after slamming it shut, I lied down on the bed. John had to hate me if he could have said those things to me, if he could hurt me like that on purpose. He knew what he was doing the whole, his goal was to hurt me from the beginning, but I couldn't figure out why.

Was it because I'd kinda, sorta, not really lied to him about being on birth control? Was it to punish me for what Hunter did? Was it because Punk wanted me and I hadn't known? Nothing was making any sense anymore and my heart wouldn't stop hurting. I wanted the John that took Tiny and I on the cruise. I wanted the John that I'd fallen in love with, the one who promised to protect me. I wanted the John that called me Priceless. I wanted my Johnny back.

"Kendall open the damn door!" he yelled, from outside the room.

I shook my head, fully aware he couldn't see me. The tears in my eyes were getting closer and closer to falling over the edge. John shook the door hand before banging on it violently.

"Now Kendall!"

He was getting angrier the longer I made him stand out there but that didn't make me want to let him in any sooner. I didn't want to see him at all; I just wanted him to leave me alone. He'll go away eventually and when he does I'm not sticking around. I don't care what it takes, but I can't stay here and raise a child like this. I won't raise a child to think its okay for its dad to sleep around on its mom. I will not do it.

"Damn it, Kendall. I'm not kidding. Open the fucking door before I break it down!"

When I heard the first crack, I started getting scared. The second crack had me up and out of the bed, running for the closet. On the third crack, I knew he'd broken the door and was looking for me on the bed. It was stupid of me to hide in the closet because that was the next place he would look, he wasn't an idiot, but his yelling and banging was scaring me.

"Get out here," John growled from just outside the closet door.

"Please just go away," I whispered, feeling my whole body tremble.

"I just broke a door in my fucking house. Get out of that closet now and tell me why the hell you're so upset right now," he said angrily.

"I can't," I choked out.

He banged his fist against the door in frustration, "Damn it Kendall. Just get out here and talk to me. Why do you always have such a hard time talking to me?"

"It doesn't matter anymore John."

How can I tell him that I want him to love me? You don't just tell a person that and now with him sleeping around with Stephanie- I shook my head. It's not possible to open my heart to him now. John will never love me back, so I need to find a way to stop my heart from loving him.

I laid down on the floor, curling up into a ball, and finally let myself cry. With my eyes closed tight, I tried to block everything out. I was probably overreacting, I was probably being overdramatic, but as the tears fell from my eyes and the sobs wracked my body, I could literally feel all of the emotion and tension I'd been holding in over the past three months release. For once, I didn't care if John heard me crying, he was the ultimate cause of it. I just wanted out.

**John's POV**

I waited until I heard her crying soften; I knew then that she was either sleeping or too exhausted to fight back. The only thing I didn't understand was why she was crying. I mean, I get that she's hurt from what we did to her with the whole Punk situation. But she needs to realize that I didn't want to do it. I had no choice in the matter, I told them no.

When I opened the closet, she was on the floor with her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. A sense of pride flooded through me when she told me she was pregnant, I never thought that she cheated on me. I'm actually pretty sure she isn't capable of cheating on me. Partially because she is afraid of the consequences, but also because on some level she has feelings for me. She's fighting them though, that's why she keeps closing herself off to me. It's why she won't fully open herself to me.

Carefully, I picked her up off the floor and carried her from the guest room being mindful of the broken pieces of wood. I wasn't as angry as I was worried when I broke the door. I wasn't exactly sure what she was doing or planning on doing and I didn't want her to hurt herself. I carried her to our bedroom and laid her down on the bed. Kissing her on the forehead, I went to walk away but her hand caught my wrist. When I looked back at her, her eyes were still closed.

"Hold me," she whispered, a tear falling down her face, "Please lay here and hold me Johnny."

"Okay, baby," I nodded, climbing in bed with her and taking her in my arms.

I'm not sure how long we laid there; I know for sure that Kendall fell asleep. Her breathing was deep and slow, her chest rising. She was lying on her back with one of my arms under her head; my other was resting on her stomach. Time came back to me, however, when I heard Tiny yell up the stairs, telling Kendall that she was home from school.

The yelling startled Kendall, her breathing sped up but she wasn't fully awake. I watched as her eyelids fluttered a bit, trying to bring her back to reality.

"Cold," Kendall moaned softly.

I rubbed her arm closest to me, "It's time to get up, baby. Tiny just got home. We've been up here for a while."

"Johnny?" she asked her voice heavy with sleep and confusion.

"Yeah, it's me. You fell asleep in the closet. I didn't think you'd want to stay there, so I brought you here," I explained.

"You stayed?"

"You asked me to," I answered with a shrug.

In all honesty, I never cheated on her. Money will make people do a lot of things, like Stephanie telling Kendall that we slept together. We didn't. I just wanted to get her back somehow, and I thought that by making her jealous she'd come back. Apparently it only made things worse.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure you had other things you could've been doing today. You didn't have to stay," she said as she sat up.

"I didn't have anything to do today. I had the day off work and no other plans," I told her shaking my head.

"Oh," was her reply. She picked at the loose strings of the comforter on our bed nervously. It felt as if she was, I don't know, afraid of me I guess. She wouldn't look at me, would barely talk to me, and was just very anxious.

"Kendall, what's wrong?" I asked, slowly.

She took a deep breath, "I can't stay here," she replied quietly, "I'm sorry. I know what you said last night and I guess I'll have to deal with you calling my father, but I just can't."

"Why not? What's telling you that you can't stay here?" I demanded, trying to keep my anger at bay. When she shook her head and mumbled something about how I wouldn't be able understand, I got frustrated, "How do you know I won't understand if you don't even tell me? The only thing you say is that you can't stay here. That tells me nothing!"

"I j-just feel l-like you d-don't c-care. I can't stay here if you d-don't c-care ab-bout me," she finally said.

"Have I ever told you I don't care?"

"Yes," she answered quickly, when I looked at her in confusion she continued, "I told you I didn't want kids, you said you didn't care. There have been a few other times too, I just can't think of them off the top of my head."

"That may be true," I admitted, "But I never said I didn't care about you, as a person. I only said that I didn't care that you don't want kids."

"You're not helping yourself," she muttered.

"Kendall, I'm trying to have a legit conversation with you right now. Please don't start with the snarky comments, I really don't want to fight again," I sighed.

"You're right," she relented, "I'm sorry."

"Now, listen when I tell you that I do care for you. If I didn't then I wouldn't have fined everyone who was involved in the Punk set up half a million dollars," I blurted out.

"You did what?"

"I fined all of them, even McMahon and my own dad. I didn't want it to happen, Kendall. They had an emergency meeting as soon as Sam and Alanna came up missing. Sean and I were reached by phone and they told us that because we were not physically at the meeting we could not have final say. And I know Randy told you this same thing, but I fought tooth and nail against the operation. I will swear on anything," I explained.

"Half a million dollars? John that's a lot of money-"

"Kendall they promised me you wouldn't get hurt," I said, "They swore to me that nothing would happen to you but you ended up in the hospital with more than just a concussion. I wasn't about to just let that go. Someone had to pay for it, other than you."

Kendall stared at me like a fish out of water for about ten minutes before she finally found the words to say, "Thank you, Johnny."

Smiling at the thought of her calling me Johnny when she was completely awake, I pulled her towards me and into my arms. At first she tensed but she relaxed quickly and wrapped her arms around my neck. "You're welcome Priceless."


	26. Chapter 26

**The beginning of this is just kind of filler, at least that's how I feel about it. It may or may not get better. [: Let me know whacha think about it!**

* * *

><p><strong>Tasha's POV<strong>

"There is some weird stuff going on in my house," I told Sean as we worked on some paperwork for his dad. I'd gone straight to work after school and we were just about finished.

"What kind of weird stuff?" he asked.

"I don't know. Kenny is talking more. Her and John don't fight or argue, like ever. It's like they're trying to be the happy couple again," I explained, still trying to make sense of it in my head.

"How is that weird? I mean, if you think about it, it kind of makes sense. They have a baby on the way. Would you want to be fighting with your husband all the time if you were in her position?" he said.

"Sean, he doesn't even know if it's his baby. She was cheating on him, remember?" I stressed, "He told us that night they told us she was pregnant. And speaking of her being pregnant, they aren't telling anyone. Your family knows, I know, and I think Randy knows, that's it. They apparently don't want it getting out to her family and Punk."

"Now hold on a second. You've known Kendall your whole life; do you really think she'd cheat on John?"

"I didn't think she'd do a lot of things, but they happened Sean-"

"They happened for good reason, Tasha," he said, his voice rising slightly, "She was opening her heart to him. She was trying to be happy with him; she was falling in love with him."

"Then why did she do it?"

"That's just it, sweetie. I don't think she did. She might have made a friend, she might have talked to him a lot, and she might have started to trust him. But I don't think she would have ever cheated on John," he maintained.

"And now? Why are they so good now? They were silent for months, then fought for three days, and now he's planning her a surprise birthday party that she is not going to be happy about," I informed in.

The party, which I'd already told John, was going to upset Kendall. She wasn't going to like it because it was Brett's day, not hers. He only rolled his eyes at me, saying we weren't with them anymore and that we should stop living in their shadow.

"Finished," Sean announced pressing one final button on his computer before turning and looking at me fully, "I don't know why. Maybe they're trying to work things out for the baby. John actually does care for Kenny, even if he doesn't really know how to show it properly. He is possessive and demanding and he likes things his way. He has a temper and Kendall tends to have fun testing his patience. They go well together though, once you get past the walls they've both built up."

"Yeah, I guess," I sighed.

I stood up from my desk and started packing up my stuff. My talk with Sean hadn't put my mind at ease, I just felt like something wasn't right. Shaking my head and trying to push that aside, I told myself that I was just being paranoid.

"So what are your plans for tonight?" Sean asked, as he wrapped me up in a hug.

"Some friends from school are coming over," I shrugged and leaned back into his chest, "Study party kind of thing."

"That sounds fun. Can I come?"

"Sean, you wouldn't have any fun. You'll be bored out of your mind and it'll just be a bunch of high school kids. I'll call you before I go to bed though," I promised.

"Can I come over after?" he asked suggestively.

"Don't do that," I warned, untangling myself from his arms and picking up my bag, "I'll see you tomorrow for the party."

"Tasha, I didn't mean it like that," he backtracked, following me from the office and to the parking lot.

I waved to Eve on the way out, ignoring Sean. He knows my uneasiness when it comes to having him spend the night. We haven't done anything yet, just some kissing here and there. And we aren't really even a couple yet. I like him and I think he likes me, at least John says he does. It's not like he hasn't spent the night before, it was more the way he said it.

"Sweetie come on, talk to me," he begged as I reached my car. Well, technically it was John's, he bought it for me to use. I told him I could have used one of the ones in his garage but he insisted on buying me a new one. It's a brand new Dodge Nitro Shock. He laughed at me when I told him I'd picked it because it looked pretty and the sound system was nice. Sean was shocked that I knew anything about cars and Kendall told him, when she was still talking, that cars were a bit of a fascination of mine.

"I have to go. Kelsey, Kyle, and Jake will be at the house in like ten minutes and I told Kenny I'd help her with dinner." I felt Sean tense when I mentioned that Jake would be there.

"Fine. Go have fun with your little friends," he said angrily.

"Okay, I'm not sure why you're getting upset with me right now, but I hope you get over it before the party tomorrow," I said before getting in my car and pulling away.

Honestly, I don't know what his deal is. Like I said, he better get over it before Kendall's birthday party tomorrow. I don't want anything else to ruin it for her.

As I reached the house, I saw Kelsey, Kyle, and Jake waiting outside the gate in their cars. I let them in and we went inside to find Kendall and John running around the house, laughing like crazy. When I cleared my throat, they stopped and Kendall turned red with embarrassment.

"Oh, hey guys," John said awkwardly.

"I thought you were still at work," I said.

"Nope, I came home early. We were just messing around," he answered.

"He was trying to sneak some frosting off the cake," Kenny explained, "I told him we weren't eating it until after dinner and he kept trying to dip his fingers in it anyway."

"Newlyweds," Kelsey said dreamily.

"Such a joy, yes. Well, we are going to start on homework and what not. Is there anything you need help with? Do you want me to do anything for dinner?" I asked.

Kendall gave me a weird look, as if to ask me why I was in such a bad mood and I just shook my head. I didn't want to explain whatever happened between Sean and me. Heck, I didn't even know what happened.

"No, I think I was just going to throw together stuff for taco salad. Does that sound good to you guys?" she asked.

My friends murmured their agreements and I smiled, "How have you been feeling today? Any nausea?"

"Eh, not too much. As long as I stay away from anything too cheesy I'm fine," she answered.

"Have you been sick?" Kyle asked.

"Something like that," Kendall answered.

"Well, I hope you get better soon."

"Thanks," she said with a smile, "I'm going to go get to that and try to keep John away from that cake. Good luck with your homework."

When she walked away Kelsey turned to me and said, "You have the coolest aunt ever!"

I shrugged, "She's pretty great. I like being here a lot better than being in Mississippi. But, in all honesty, I'm here because of John. He got me here."

"What's so bad about your home?" Jake asked.

"It just, uh, wasn't the greatest place to live," I answered

"Ya know, you don't talk about your family very much. Neither does Kendall," Kyle commented.

"Nope," I said, pulling a book out of my bag, "Why don't we get studying?"

"Were you guys close when you lived in Mississippi?" Jake asked.

"Mhmm. When did Taylor say that history test would be?" Apparently changing the subject wasn't working.

"On Monday, we have all weekend to study for it. So was she your mom's sister or your dad's sister? You guys don't look anything alike," Kelsey commented.

"Oh, well, um. I know she's uh-"

"Hey, Tiny? Priceless needs some help real quick," John said, from the doorway to the family room.

**John's POV**

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you," Tiny breathed as she walked past me and into the kitchen.

"Not a problem. What is up with the sudden grilling?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. Kelsey was talking about how Kendall is the coolest aunt ever-"

"Which I am!" Kenny put in.

"-and I said something about how it's just better being here than in Mississippi. Then they started asking questions about Mississippi and our families. Like why we don't look alike and if you were my mom's sister or my dad's. I didn't know what to say," Tiny admitted.

"I interrupted before they got any further," I said.

"I'm sorry about this, guys. I didn't think it would be such a big deal-"she started.

"Hey, none of that. It's not a big deal at all. We just need to figure things out. We'll just say that- ugh I don't know. John, a little help here?" Priceless asked.

"Okay, to keep this as real as possible, I think it would be best to say that Tiny's dad is your brother. What's another one right? Just he's one that isn't an evil troll," I suggested, "It makes sense for you to still be the only daughter."

"Yeah, that actually makes sense. Well, dinner is almost done. I figured that I'd let every make their own salad, in case they wanted cheese," Priceless said, visibly shuddering when she mentioned cheese, "So if you want to call them in here and set the table quickly, it'll be done by then."

Tiny nodded and walked back into the family room.

"What is with you and cheese?" I asked, laughing when she shuddered again.

"Ugh, please don't. I don't know why it just makes me want to gag," she said, "Oh and don't say anything to Tiny, but I got a phone call from Sean. Apparently he pissed her off and now she thinks he's pissed off but he's just jealous that Jake's here and he isn't. Or something along those lines, I think."

"What'd he do?" I asked.

"Didn't say, just wanted to warn me in case she was extra moody. That explains the way she was when she got here."

I nodded just as the others entered the kitchen.

"Oh Tasha, did you hear that Maddie and Tyler broke up?" Kelsey gossiped, causing Kyle and Jake to roll their eyes.

"No, why?" Tiny asked.

"He caught her cheating on him with Chad Helmsley," Kelsey informed us.

I looked over at Priceless, who had her back to us, and saw that she'd tensed. Chad was Stephanie and Hunter's kid.

"That kid is bad news. His dad up and left one day. No one knows why, though. I think he's got another set of wife and kids somewhere," Jake through in.

"Yeah, well his mom's a cheating whore. So it's no wonder he learned it too," Priceless said cruelly, setting the pan of taco meat on the table along with the fixings for salad.

"Kendall!" Tiny admonished, I think she was in shock that Priceless even knew Stephanie. Then for her to berate the Steph and Chad in front of Tiny's friends was probably an embarrassment.

Priceless looked at Tasha and I could see that her eyes were glassy, "I'm sorry."

The five of us watched as Priceless ran from the kitchen and up the stairs, most likely to the guest bedroom closet. It seemed to be her comfort spot lately, whenever she was upset she'd go there to settle down.

I turned back to Tiny's friends, "I'm really sorry about that. I think her hormones are getting to her."

Kelsey gasped, "Is she pregnant?"

"Ah shit," I ran a hand over my face, "This goes no further than my kitchen. We aren't telling a lot of people, understand?"

They all nodded and accepted my apology before digging into the meal that Priceless prepared for them. I felt guilty for her outburst and I knew that Tiny deserved an explanation.

After dinner was done, Priceless still hadn't come downstairs so I left the kids to themselves and went to find her. When I did she was sitting on the floor in a corner in our bedroom. Her knees were brought up to her chest and her head was buried into her knees.

"Priceless, are you alright?" I asked quietly, not wanting to scare her.

"Go away, John."

"Please don't do this again. Don't close yourself off to me," I pleaded.

"You did this, not me. I didn't do anything wrong. I've been trying to figure out where I went wrong, searching my brain to find out what I did that made you go to her. I can't see why I'm not enough for you. What does she do for you that I don't? What does she do for you that I can't? If you just tell me, then maybe I can fix it. Please, John I just need to know," she cried.

"You didn't do anything-"

"Then why did you do this to me?" she demanded, "Why did you take me away from everything I've ever known? Why did you make me feel like someone actually cared about me? Why did you let them use me? Why did you cheat on me? Why did you break my heart?"

"Break your heart?" I shook my head, "Kendall, I can only break your heart if you have feelings for me. Which you've shown that you don't-"

"I've shown that I don't have feelings for you by agreeing to have your baby? I've shown that I don't have feelings for you by staying here after everything that you've done to me?"

"Everything I've done? What have I done to you?" I shouted, totally forgetting about Tasha and her friends downstairs.

"What did you do to me on our wedding night, John? Or have you forgotten already? How about before we were even married, I'm pretty sure it was the second day I was even here. Do you remember the bruise I had on my face? You did that," she whispered.

"Then why did you stay?" I demanded, "If I'm such an evil monster, why are you still here?"

"Because I love you!"


	27. Chapter 27

**Kendall's POV**

Sometimes, especially when I'm alone like I am now, I think back to that day and I try to picture different ways that it could have turned out. I see the way it actually ended and I see the way I wish it could have gone. Sometimes I change the way it could have gone, some minor details that could affect the aftermath of that day.

There are times when I imagine I said those words so quietly he couldn't hear me. Sometimes I imagine he walked away simply because he didn't think I had answered him.

Then there are times when I imagine that he walked towards me, picked me up in his arms, and told me how much he loved me. Those times I imagine that he laid me down in our bed and made sweet love to me, the whole time whispering that he loved me.

At some points, I imagine that he laughed at me. In these times he'd tell me that I was too young and stupid and naïve to know what love was. And maybe he'd be right, and maybe I'd believe him.

Right now as I clean up the kitchen for yet another get together of his, I'm picturing how it really happened, in detail, and I can't help but cry. It feels like crying is all I've been doing in the past four months. I can still see John staring at me as I sat on the floor in our bedroom. I can still hear my heart beating in my as I waited for his response. Honestly, I hadn't meant for it to come out like that. I didn't want to tell him, I didn't mean to blurt it out, but with him standing over me like that and yelling at me I couldn't stop it.

Part of me felt relieved that I didn't have to keep it in any longer, but another part was deathly afraid because I wasn't sure how he was going to respond. For the longest time he just stared at me, or maybe it just felt like a long time to me, before he shook his head and walked away. I wish I could have said that he didn't hear me, but when Tasha told me that she had heard me say it and she was downstairs in the living room, I knew that I couldn't give myself that excuse. I knew that I hadn't said it quietly, I just wanted to make myself believe that maybe he hadn't heard me.

So now, I'm seven months pregnant with my husbands' child and I'm hardly speaking to him. If you ask anyone outside our house, though, they'd tell you we were just fine, growing even in our marriage. The thought made me shake my head as I wiped the same spot on the island for about the fifteenth time. Hell, sometimes I think John eve thinks we're okay. But we're not, we never really have been. Our marriage, if you can even call it that, has been a hoax from the beginning.

I should have protected my heart from the beginning. I never should have let myself fall for his lies and his fake words. At the beginning, he thought he might be able to learn to love me, but now I can see that he was just saying that to appease me. He'll never love me and I should have known that. You can't learn to love someone either, I knew that from living with my father for so long. The only person who ever really loved me was my mother and she wasn't allowed to show it.

"Damn it," I sighed.

And just as I was about to make my way upstairs, to the bedroom I still shared with John, the doorbell rang. I didn't need to rack my mind to think of whom it was that would show up here for the party early. Randy had packed up his family and moved to Massachusetts just after I told him that I was pregnant. He told me that his dad wanted to 'set up shop' over here. I only laughed; I knew that Bob Orton hadn't really had a hand in the business for quite some time. It was mostly Randy and his brother Nate.

I was about to call for Tasha to answer the door, before I remembered that she wasn't here. She wouldn't be here for this part. She was in California for orientation at some school that I couldn't even remember the name of. I'd been so busy trying to deal with everything with John and planning everything for her graduation party and I'd been so tired. But she was gone and I was alone in this big house. I'd wanted to go with her but John had forbid me to travel.

I sighed again as I walked to the door to let in the Orton's. I hadn't held anything against Sam or Alanna for what happened with Punk. It wasn't their fault and I knew that, plus I couldn't do that to Randy.

As I opened the door, I think my eyes about popped out of my head and I wanted to slam the door shut. Obviously, it wasn't the Orton's.

"Please don't close the door," he said quickly, putting his hand up to stop it before it latched.

I placed my hands on my stomach protectively, a move I'd perfected these past few months, "What are you doing here? You aren't allowed anywhere near Massachusetts."

"I don't know where to start," he said with a shake of his head, "There is so much I need to say to you, so much I need to apologize for."

"Just don't. I don't have the time for it, nor do I want to hear it."

"Kenny, please. I know I've done some horrible things over the years and I don't deserve your forgiveness-"

"Then why are you even here?" I interrupted, "I'm trying to get ready for a party. People will be here in an hour and a half. John will be home in a half hour. That isn't enough time for you to apologize for any of the things you've done."

"I know that. I'll never have enough time, but Kendall please allow me to try to make it up to you. You're my only sister and I'll never be able to forgive myself if you don't at least let me try," he all but begged.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, the door to the garage in the kitchen opened and John called out to me.

"You really should leave," I warned him one last time, not wanting to know what would happen when John finds out he's here.

"I deserve whatever he does to me. I need to make you see how sorry I am," he reiterated.

When I finally looked him straight in his eyes, I could see how sincere he was being. And seeing that I wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and demand that he hug me. I don't think that any of my brothers had ever hugged me in my entire life. But I couldn't do that, especially now with-

"What the hell is going on here?" John growled from behind me.

Gosh, I hate when he uses that tone of voice. It always scares me, even when it's not directed towards me. And right now, I'm not sure if it is or not.

"I don't really know," I answered, turning slightly to face him.

Okay, definitely the anger is for me. He isn't even looking at Teddy right now. He's just glaring holes at me. It causes me to move from having my hands on my stomach to wrapping my arms around my stomach. Apparently, they both see the move. John's face softens as if he realizes that he is scaring me and Teddy decides to talk.

"Oh my god. Kenny, you're pregnant?" he asked excitedly.

"You need to leave. I told you the last time you were here that I didn't want to see you on my property ever again," John reminded him.

"I know but-"

"But what? Did you not understand what I said? We don't want you around us!" John yelled.

It caused me to jump and the sound of John's voice caused the baby to move, kicking, or maybe just bumping into, my ribs. I winced a bit, trying not to let them notice. I didn't want to get involved in this. I'd been trying to stay out of John's way since the whole 'incident'. It was the best way to describe it, I guess.

"If you'd give me a minute to explain, you'd figure out that I walked away from my dad and everything he's been doing-"

"You can do that?" I interrupted.

John looked at me and I was pretty sure that if looks could kill, I'd be dead a million times over.

"I'm not sure if I can, but I did. He wasn't very happy about it and neither was Mike. Brett was ecstatic, apparently if I'm not there he gets more inheritance," Teddy explained.

"He apparently doesn't know that father is unbelievably broke," I deadpanned, the two men looked at me, their eyes asking questions they couldn't quite put together, "Well I had control of over half father's accounts. He barely had enough money to get by, I have no idea how he was paying for the illegal things he was buying, unless he was hiding it in the accounts I wasn't allowed to have."

"Kendall, why are we just finding out about this now?" John asked.

I shrugged, "You've never really asked about it. Teddy, what are you doing here?"

"I don't even know where to start with that on, Kenny," he said slowly.

"How about at the beginning?" John suggested under his breath.

"Hold on, before you go on with that," I said looking at my brother, "John can you come over here and talk to your child? He is killing me."

**Teddy's POV**

I watched a smile appear on John's face and he walked to my baby sister, taking her hand he led her to a different room in the house. Just before he got out of sight though, he turned and looked over a shoulder and motioned for me to follow. When I got to the room, Kendall was sitting on the couch, leaning back a bit the way she would when she was a kid, and John was kneeling in front of her with his hands on her belly.

How I didn't notice that thing when she opened the door is beyond me. Maybe she was just trying to hide it from me.

She patted the seat next to her and I realized that she was looking up at me, wanting me to take that seat and suddenly I wasn't so sure if I was doing the right thing. I mean, giving up everything I've ever known just because I didn't like what we did. I don't even know what made me realize the fact that what we were doing was wrong. My dad enjoyed screwing people out of their money and out of their guns and their drugs and their ammo and all of the other things they bought from us.

"So, you're having a boy," I inquired as I sat next to her.

Kendall shook her head, "We don't know. I asked for it to be a surprise, but I think it'll be a boy. I mean, if you think about it genetics are on the boys' side. I only have brothers and John only has brothers, so it would make sense if it were a boy."

I nodded, "Have you thought of any names yet?"

"I thought you were here to talk about you, not about our baby," John said, lifting his head from Kendall's stomach momentarily.

"You're right, sorry. Like I said, I'm not sure where to even start when it comes to an apology. I don't know if I should start from the very beginning and work to the day that you left or if I should work backwards-"

"What is making you come here and apologize?" Kendall asked softly, her voice somewhat timid.

I can tell that she might be afraid to ask me questions, even with her husband so close. And I hate that I let her get to that point. I hate that, even though our dad started it and allowed us to do it, I hurt her. Anger and regret swim violently through my body and I can feel myself breaking despite where I am and who I am with.

"The fact that I was a terrible brother to you, and the fact that I don't even know why I did it. I hurt you and I can't even give you a decent excuse. You never did anything wrong, you would try so hard to get through the day without being yelled at or having one of us punish you for something. We did it just because dad told us to, even when we told him you had a good day, he'd still tell us to go do something to you. I don't know why I listened to him for so long, but I won't do it anymore Kenny and I'm so sorry that I allowed it to go on as long as it did," I finally finished.

She was quiet for a long time and we both just listened to John's murmuring before she finally spoke up, "Teddy, I don't know what to say. You hurt me for so long. And it wasn't just you, heck you didn't even do the worst of it, Brett did. But I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"First, please tell me I did the right thing. Tell me I did the right thing by talking dad into letting John bring you here and marry you. He didn't want to at first, said you were too valuable, but when I reminded him that it would get you out of his hair he all but threw a party. And tell me I'm doing the right thing by leaving him too. Tell me I'm doing the right thing by getting out and finding work somewhere else, for someone honest," I pleaded, for the first time ever, I asked my baby sister for guidance.

"Teddy, you're doing the right thing by getting out," she assured me with a smile, "I, um, I have to go get ready for the shower."

She stood up abruptly, nearly knocking John off balance, and walked out of the room. That probably should have been my first clue.

"I did the right thing by talking him into this, right?" I asked John, hoping for some kind of reassuring.

"Marriage isn't always the easiest thing in the world," John answered.

That probably should have been my second clue.


	28. Chapter 28

**Okay, so I think I know what I want the baby's name to be. It's going to have two middle names. I'm pretty set on it, but if you would like to give me suggestions I'm willing to consider changing two of the names. One of them is absolute. It'll be a surprise though, as will the sex of the baby unless you beg be bad enough (;  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Randy's POV<br>**I haven't been the best friend to Kendall in the past. Actually, I've probably been a terrible friend to her and I've done things that I'm not proud of and I've put her in danger. I can't promise that I won't do it again, but I can promise that I won't do it willingly. I can also promise that I won't let her husband be an idiot; I don't care if he is one of my best friends.

"Kendall, what the hell is he doing here?" I growled, walking up to her in the kitchen.

She jumped about a foot into the air, turned around quickly holding a hand to her chest, "Jesus Christ, Randy! You should know better than to walk up behind me like that!"

"Don't ignore the question, damn it. Why is he here?" I was getting even angrier by the second. Knowing her, she had nothing to do with the fact that Theodore Marvin DiBiase Jr. just happens to be attending her husband's business party. Fuck, the last I heard DiBiase's were banned from Massachusetts.

"Why don't you ask him? He showed up here going on about how he wants out of our father's deals and how he wants to apologize for everything he's done to me-"

"And you're accepting it?" I asked my voice angry yet hushed. I didn't need other people hearing our conversation.

"I never said that! And even if I were, it's not like it's your business anyway. For once in my life I wish people would let me make my own damn decisions."

I stared at her for a minute, just watching her bustle around the kitchen trying to situate the dishes just right on the counters. She reached up to grab a bowl from a cupboard but found that her giant belly got in her way, she tried standing on her tip toes but she still couldn't get her belly over the counter, heck even jumping didn't work. Biting back a chuckle, I walked over to her and gently moved her out of the way to pull the bowl out of the cupboard for her.

"Show off," she muttered.

"You're right and I'm sorry," I finally said, "I was just worried. I am worried. I don't want to see you get too comfortable with him around and then he turns on you. I don't trust him."

"I don't either," she admitted softly, "Honestly; I didn't want him to stay for the party." I looked at her confused and she shook her head, "Nope, but John offered. And technically it's his party so he makes the guest list. I am merely the fat kitchen worker."

"You're not fat," I argued.

"Randy, I couldn't get the damn bowl," she countered.

"Only because Randy Jr. was getting in the way," I smirked.

"Randy Jr.?" a voice asked from behind us, "Is there something I should be worried about?"

Kendall laughed, "With this one? Never."

"Oh darn," Sam chuckled, feigning sadness, "I was hoping you'd take him off my hands."

"I think I'm plenty busy with the one I have, Sam. You can take your bottomless pit home."

"Hey, hey, hey, you two just stop. I am standing right here and I can hear every word you're saying!" I exclaimed.

"Daddy, daddy! Aunt Ken doll and Uncle John are gonna have a baby!" my wide, brown-eyed daughter came running into the kitchen and jumped into my arms.

"They are? Do you think they should have a boy or a girl?" I asked her.

"I think they should have a girl. 'Cause boys have cooties," she told me in a 'come on daddy you should know this already' tone of voice.

"Oh, they do? Do I have cooties too?"

"Psh, no!"

"Well, why not? I'm a boy!" I exclaimed.

"But daddy, you got your cootie shots. At least that's what mommy says. That's how come she can touch you and not get cooties. Same with Uncle John," Alanna answered with a smile.

"Ya wanna know something Skipper?" Kendall asked her.

"What?"

"I still think your daddy has cooties," she answered in a loud whisper.

"Ew! Gross!" Alanna pushed away from me and flew from the room as quick as she can; my guess is so that she could go wash her hands.

"Randy, it's getting late and close to Alanna's bed time. I don't want her to get off her schedule, especially since we just got her used to it," Sam said once she finally recovered from laughing.

"You're probably right. We should get going. I just want to finish talking with Kendall quick and I'll be right there," I promised and watched her walk out of the kitchen.

"Barbie doll, I don't want to talk about Ted anymore-"

"That's fine; I'm not going to make you. I just want to tell you that if you need me, I'm only a phone call away. I don't care what time it is, I'll answer for you," I told her.

"I know. You'll be the first person I call," she promised.

I gave her the best hug I could, considering her stomach was getting pretty large, "Are you sure there's only one in there?"

"There better be only one in here," she said.

"I wouldn't mind two," John said as he walked into the kitchen, grabbing a handful of pretzels from a bowl, "Do we have any cheese?"

**John's POV**

"Cheese?" Randy asked.

I tried to hold in a smirk as best I could. Ever since she got pregnant, Kendall couldn't eat cheese and as her pregnancy progressed just the smell of cheese would make her sick.

"Yeah, I'm hungry for cheese," I shrugged.

"Um, no, sorry. I didn't get any cheese this week," Kendall said slowly.

They were both looking at me as if I forgot, while I pasted a look of innocence on my face. I don't really have an excuse for being an ass today, I just kind of felt like it.

"Oh, okay, I guess. People are starting to leave, so if you want to start cleaning up that's fine," I told her.

"Wait, John. Before you walk away, I want to talk to you about something," Randy started just as I was walking out the kitchen.

"No, Randy don't do this now," Kendall said quickly.

"No, I think he should do this now if you're acting like that. Actually, I kind of think that you should do it," I said, getting angry. Now I know why I was being an ass.

"It's not her that has the problem, John. She just doesn't want me to upset you," Randy covered.

"A problem with what, Randy? I haven't done anything-"

"Exactly! You haven't done anything! You let Ted stay here! You should have kicked him out the second you saw him. But what did your dumb ass do? You invited him to stay for the party!" he yelled.

"Randy, keep your voice down!" Kendall insisted, "People are still here."

"It's not your business what goes on in my own house Randy. He apologized and is looking for a way to get out of DiBiase's affairs, that's good enough for me. Just because you don't like him doesn't mean he isn't allowed to be here. He doesn't have anywhere else to go," I shouted back, ignoring Kendall.

"He hurt your wife, John. I don't care how many times he apologized, that man hurt her for years and let his brothers and other men hurt her. He was one of the guys who agreed to let the whole Punk thing go down. She doesn't feel safe with him here," Randy said, his voice slightly lowered.

"Now, I never said that," Kendall put in.

"So this is her problem," I laughed and shook my head, "Randy, I swear every time Kendall and I fight it's because you come in here and start an argument. If you have a problem with how I run my household then that's just too bad. I don't go to your house and criticize your family so I suggest you don't do it to mine."

"John, you once told me that you would do anything to protect your wife. You're doing a pretty shitty job right now," he growled before walking out of the kitchen.

"Bastard better be leaving if he knows what's good for him," I muttered.

"John, please don't be like that," Kendall said quietly.

"Damn it Kendall, I will be however I want to be," I said in a low voice.

When she only nodded I shook my head and walked out of the kitchen to say goodbye to whoever was still left from the party. It wasn't their business why I had asked Ted to stay, I was in my house and what I say goes. If they haven't learned that by now then that's not my problem.

"John is Tasha working tonight or has she just been hiding in her room?" Sean asked.

"Um, neither. She didn't tell you?" I asked slowly.

"I don't think so. It's possible that I forgot though. I've been pretty busy lately," he answered.

"She's at orientation for school, in California."

"I thought she was still pretty undecided though," he mused.

"She and Kelsey went to Cal State Long Beach for Orientation this weekend. I thought she told you that," I said.

"No, she didn't even tell me that she was considering Cal State. All of the schools she'd told me about here on this side of the country," he snapped.

"Hey, don't kill the messenger."

"You're right, sorry. Is she really going there?" he asked.

"I sent the first check last week," I confirmed.

I felt bad having to be the one to tell him and the look on his face made it even worse. Tasha should have told him in the beginning. I think Sean should have gone with her to orientation; it would have been fun for the both of them.

"Kay. I'm going to go home and try to not drown myself in a bottle of Jack," he told me and walked out the door.

Mental note, call Tasha and rip her a new one.

Once everyone had left, I walked back into the kitchen with Ted.

"Kendall, did you put all the food away already?" I asked.

"Yeah, you told me I could," she answered as she wiped down the island countertop.

"Can you make me something to eat?"

"John, are you serious right now?"

"Yes."

She shook her head, "For the past three hours there has been food sitting out for everyone to eat. Why didn't you get any of it?"

"I was busy talking," I answered.

"That's never stopped you before," she muttered.

"Why are we arguing right now? I just want something to eat," I insisted, trying to make this whole thing look ridiculous.

Ted stood off to side of the counter, leaning on a stool, and looking uncomfortable. Obviously he hadn't heard about how often Kendall and I had arguments, although since she told me she was pregnant they haven't really been that bad. If anything, we haven't really talked enough to have a real argument.

"I am not arguing I just think you're stupid for not eating when I had plenty of food sitting out here. I cooked all day long and now you want me to cook more. My feet hurt and my ankles are swelling and I'm tired," she complained.

"Well, I'm sorry for working," I said rolling my eyes.

"Oh here we go again," she muttered.

"You do realize that if I didn't work then we wouldn't have this house, or our cars, or any of what we have. Right? We wouldn't be able to put Tasha through college and we wouldn't be able to-"

"We wouldn't be able to be rich. I get it. But it's not like you do legal things to get the money, John. And I'm not complaining that you were working, that's not my problem. My problem is that you are perfectly capable of making your own food for once in your life, especially when I've been cooking all day for your business associates and I just want to go take a bath and lay down," she interrupted.

"Are you even allowed to take a bath?" Ted asked, making both of us look at him, "Well, it's just that I didn't know if you could take baths when you're pregnant. Oh don't look at me like that I've never had kids."

"Why are you still here?" Kendall blurted out. As soon as the words left her mouth, a hand flew up to cover it and her eyes grew wide, "I'm sorry," she said though it was muffled, "I didn't mean that."

"So Randy was right?" I asked.

"I never said that," she said frustrated, "None of his words came out of my mouth, they came out of his."

"Randy doesn't like me. Never has, never will," Ted put in.

"Yeah, I'm starting to see that," I told him, "And Kendall he's here because I want to talk to him."

"About?"

"Work."

She rolled her eyes. I hated talking about work with her because I knew that she didn't like the fact that it wasn't all legal. If I could change one thing in my life, that would be it. The illegal factor of my work, that is. Simply because it disappoints Kendall that my work isn't honest. When Ted told her that he was getting out of their dad's business, her eyes flashed with something that can only be explained by the fact that she was proud of him. He told her that he wanted to do something honest and I swear she wanted to smile.

"Whatever; make your own dinner. I'm going to bed. If you're going to talk to your child, please try not to wake me up," she said before walking upstairs.

"Still a hellfire I see," Ted commented.


	29. Chapter 29

**You guys are all the best readers ever! I'm not even kidding. Ever review I get is such an inspiration, you guys are awesome! Thank you! [:**

* * *

><p><strong>Kendall's POV<br>**

About thirty seconds after I'd finally found a comfortable spot in the ridiculously large bed I shared with John, the devil reincarnated walked in. I tried to slow my breathing so that it looked like I was sleeping and listened as he walked into his closet before going to the bathroom and taking a shower. By the time he got out of the shower I was nearly asleep, and what do you think he does? He wakes me up.

"Kendall, what the hell was that down there?" John growled, practically jumping into the bed and effectively shifting me out of the cocoon I'd created for myself.

"Was that necessary?" I groaned.

"Answer the damn question."

"What was what?" I asked with a roll of my eyes, he needs to be more specific. Is he upset that I didn't make him something to eat? Because seriously, if that's the reason I'm going to freak out.

John rolled me onto my back and in a flash was hovering over top of me, although he was being mindful of the baby. His grip on shoulders was strong, though, he obviously thought I could somehow sneak out from underneath him.

"I am so done playing games with you, Kendall. This shit stops now. I don't know what the hell your issue is but you're done with it," he said, his voice low and angry.

"Why are you so upset with me?' I barely whispered while my eyes closed involuntarily.

He hadn't gotten angry with me in so long. I'd done so well and I just thought that maybe it actually was me pushing buttons. Before, I actually knew what I'd done wrong because I'd done it on purpose. This time I had no idea and I just wanted him to stop being so angry.

"I'm sick of you going to Orton every time you have a problem. I'm actually pretty sure I told you that you aren't allowed to talk to him," he reminded me.

"You said I couldn't call him," I argued, "And I haven't. I'm not going to him with any of my problems. He came to me today because he was upset that Teddy was here-"

"And you told him too much with that situation," John interrupted, "If I need to I'll make it so that you can't see Sam or Alanna either. Is that what you want?"

"John, I don't understand what I did. How did I tell him too much? He asked why Teddy was here and I told him-"

"That wasn't for you to tell Kendall," he growled his grip on my shoulders getting tighter until he just pushed off of them and got off the bed.

I sat up as best I could by myself, watching as John paced in front of the bed, "It had to do with me. It had to do with my family. Why was I not allowed to tell it?"

"Did you tell him about the accounts?" he demanded. When I shook my head he visibly relaxed, "Good. Don't."

"I'm sorry," I whispered sadly.

"You're always sorry," he responded, "I should probably let you know, I offered to let Ted stay here until he figures out what he's going to do."

John kept talking but everything around me stopped working. The ability to hear, the ability to talk, the ability to feel anything but numb. I was frozen and I didn't think I could breathe, all of a sudden I felt like I was back in the hospital when I had that panic attack. My eyes flicked up to John but he wasn't paying any attention to me, his mouth still moving. Of course he didn't care about my reaction; he did things like this to make me uncomfortable. He was trying to make me stop loving him.

And then I felt my baby kicking, and just that movement felt like it was kick starting my heart. I sucked in a sharp breath causing John to look towards me. He stepped to me but I shook my head. There was no way I wanted him near me. When I finally got feeling back in the rest of my body, I pushed myself out of bed and walked to my closet, trying my hardest to ignore John's presence. Grabbing the nearest bag I saw, I shoved some clothes in it and zipped it up before slipping on a pair of sandals and a sweatshirt.

"What are you doing?' John asked when I walked back into the bedroom.

I ignored him again and just left the room. He caught up to me by the time I was already down the stairs and in the kitchen trying to decide which car to take. That was the thing with being married to a car addict, I had too many to choose from. Deciding on my usual, the Charger, I picked up the keys and opened the door to the garage. With one last look back at John, I walked out the door.

**Randy's POV**

The phone ringing woke me from a very nice sleep. And I heard Sam pick it up and answer it.

"Okay, hold on a minute. No John, you need to slow down because I can't understand what you're saying- What do you mean she's- Are you sure she didn't just- Well then that's different- Yes- Now, don't start yelling at me, it's not my fault you're being an ass. Do you want to talk to Randy? Maybe the two of you can figure something out?"

By this time I was freaking out because it obviously had to do with Kenny. My mind only thought bad thoughts, John probably lost his cool and hit her too hard and knocked her out. And then I started to see red. When Sam handed me the phone I was automatically in 'Hate John Cena' mode.

"What the fuck did you do, John?" I growled.

"_Why is it always my fault?"_ he countered.

"Because you're calling me at four in the morning, waking up my family, because you don't have control of yours. Now tell me what the fuck you did so that I can undo it for you," I said, trying to calm down with the way Sam was massaging my neck.

"_She just left. She didn't say a word; she just walked the fuck out. We were talking and then she just stopped talking, walked to her closet packed a bag and left. I asked what she was doing and she ignored me. I didn't do it this time, she just fucking left,"_ John explained.

"Where did she go? Did you even try to stop her? And what were you talking about before you 'just stopped talking'?" I asked.

"_I don't know where. I asked her where she was going and she just kept ignoring me. We were talking about her damn issues. And other things,"_ he told me.

"What other things? Damn it, John you're gonna need to be a little bit more specific because if you're the reason she left and you're lying to me I'm going to fucking kill you," I threatened.

"_Fine, we were talking about Ted."_

"Jesus, John. You don't get it. You weren't there; you didn't see all the things they did. She doesn't want him to be around and you're just allowing it to happen. You're breaking another promise to her. You are such an idiot," I scolded.

"_But you were there. Why does she trust you when you didn't stop the things they did?"_ he asked.

"I did try. I tried a few times and every time she got beat worse for it. Every time I tried to make them stop, it made them angrier and she got the blunt end of the stick. I'd stand up to them and she'd get hurt for it. So I stopped because I hated to see her hurting so much. She knows how much I've done for her and for the record, she doesn't trust me. We've been over this before," I reminded him.

"_Whatever, Randy. Are you gonna help me look for her or not? If not then that's fine, but if she's at your house and you're not telling me then we're gonna have an issue,"_ he warned.

"If she were here I would tell you and you know that, but she's not. I'll be over in about ten minutes, we can look for her together and brainstorm to figure out where she might have gone," I said before hanging up the phone.

**Eve's POV**

"Kenny, I'm going to be in so much trouble when they find out you're here," I mused for about the tenth time since she got here.

"Only if we lie to them. If we lie to them, we'll be in trouble. But I have a feeling that this won't be the first place they look so we have time to figure out what I'm going to do now," she answered.

"We? I don't know if I can help. I mean, I want to but I don't want to lose my job. And if John comes after me-"

"John won't go after you, Eve. I promise. I know that I haven't been the best of friends lately and that I've been really distant lately but I need you to trust me when I saw that John isn't going to hurt you," she said, an apology and a promise all in one.

I knew that she was telling me the truth. And I also knew that I should trust her, she was only trying to protect herself, even if John couldn't see that. I'd been in her position before and unfortunately I didn't get out in time. But Kendall can and as long as Ted is nearby, without any proof that he actually is trying to be better, I'll help protect her.

"Okay. What next?"

"I need you to call Tiny. John has probably already called her and told her that I'm 'missing'" she said using finger quotes, "If she hears me she'll call John immediately and tell him I'm here with you. But if you call and explain things to her properly, she'll understand. She won't want to go home with Ted there either; she hates my brothers as much as I do; even if Brett was the worst of them."

"Do you want me to put it on speakerphone?" I asked as I dialed the number.

"Sure, that way once you explain things I can talk too," Kenny answered.

"_Yessum,"_ Tasha cheered as she answered the phone.

"T, we need to talk," I started, "I know that John's call you right?"

"_Yeah, have you heard from Kenny? He told me not to worry about it because there really isn't anything I can do from all the way over here. And since he took her phone away I can't call her,"_ she said.

"First I need to tell you a few things that I'm almost positive that John left out. Ted DiBiase showed up at your house today wanting to talk to Kenny," I revealed, one piece at a time being the easiest.

"_Her dad? Oh shit,"_ Tasha said, freaking out.

"No, no, no. Junior, he told her and John that he walked away from their dad and wanted out of whatever they had going on, said he wanted to apologize to Kenny for everything he did. Said he felt terrible for doing it and letting it happen. I don't really know the whole story, I'm sure that I wasn't even told everything but John invited him to the party tonight and Randy started an argument with John about Ted being there, which in turn started an argument between John and Kenny. More stuff happened and Kenny went to bed then when John came up the argued some more about her telling Randy too much and then he dropped the bomb that he offered to let Ted stay until he figured out what he was going to be doing. That's when Ken left," I said quickly, or I could just rip the whole damn Band-Aid off at once.

"_So, where is she now? Is she alright? Is the baby alright? Is she going back there? Eve please tell me what's going on,"_ Tasha pleaded.

I looked at Kendall and she looked so sad. I knew it hurt her to hear Tasha so upset. Tasha was like a sister to her, they'd been through so much together.

"T, I need you to promise me that you aren't going to go back to John with this. If he finds out where she is, he'll make her go back and she doesn't want to if Ted is there. She doesn't know how sincere his apology is and well, you were there. You can't blame her for not trusting him," I told her.

"_I won't tell him. Just tell me that she and her baby are okay,"_ she said quietly.

"They're both fine, Tasha. I promise you that I won't let anything happen to them. And if you want, when you get home from orientation, you can stay here too," I offered.

"_I'd like to stay, but if I do then he'd know where she was. I'll probably stay with Sean."_

"Speaking of Sean," Kenny spoke up, "Why didn't you tell him about Cal State? Or the fact that you were going to an orientation this weekend?"

"You didn't tell him?" I gasped.

"_I didn't know how. I didn't want to upset him and I just thought that if I didn't tell him then he wouldn't be so upset,"_ she said sadly.

"Oh, no he was pretty upset when John told him. He didn't even know you were considering it. I'd say he's pretty hurt," Kendall admitted.

"_That's probably why he hasn't called me yet,"_ Tasha sighed.

"Either that or the fact that it's almost 3 in the morning here," I joked.

"_Oh, yeah, that works too,_" she laughed.

"Explain to him when you get home. He'll understand, Tiny. That boy loves you," Kendall said.

"_Thanks Kenny. Speaking of love-"_

"I wish we wouldn't," Kendall muttered.

"_- have you talked at all about it?" _

"No, we haven't. And I doubt we ever will, so please stop bringing it up. I'm trying to forget it all together," Kendall told her.

"_It's not something you can just forget,"_ Tasha replied.

"I know. That's why this hurts so much."


	30. Chapter 30

**For starters, y'all should go check out the first chapter to butterflydance21's newest story 'The Rescue'. And of course her other story. Both are fantastic. Honestly, I do not lie.  
>Uh, this chapter has a bit of a shocker at the end and y'all get to see the answer to one of the questions y'all have been askin'.<br>For some reason, I seem to have taken on a southern accent in this A/N and I'm not sure why. I'm weird like that sometimes. Anyway, let me know whacha think. And go check out butterflydance21. Not joke.**

* * *

><p><strong>Kendall's POV<strong>

The first night it was the tennis racket. The second night was the golf club. The third night came the baseball bat and the baseballs. The fourth night was the glass door and their fists. By the fifth night, I couldn't make myself sleep anymore. Every time I tried, I would wake up screaming from another nightmare. Eve would come running in, worried that someone was trying to get in to hurt me. It was like I was reliving everything they'd ever done to me.

A week after I'd left, I was only taking twenty minute catnaps. And now I had to go for an ultrasound. I knew that not sleeping wasn't good for the baby, but the nightmares couldn't have been any better. In my mind, I was hoping that John would forget about the appointment. For all of the others I'd had to remind him about them the day before so that he wouldn't go into work that day. And sometimes, even if I reminded him, he'd still go into work.

Usually, I'd take Tasha with me, if John weren't going, but since we were still under the premise that no one knows where I am, I have to go alone. The technician always gives me funny looks when she sees the scar that my brothers made. When I had my first ultrasound I was really self-conscious because the only person who'd seen it, other than John, was Tasha and she hadn't seen it since the day I left Mississippi.

As I drove from Eve's house to the doctor's office, another thought came to me. What was I going to do if Stephanie was there?

The same exact thing that I've done every other time she's been there. Nothing. But it makes me wonder how many times she's been over in the past week. That thought makes me angry and when I get angry the baby just starts slipping all over the place. I can't tell if it doesn't like that I'm angry or that I'm angry with John. I pulled into the parking lot and try to calm myself down; not wanting to go into the office upset and cause a big scene.

A knock on my window brought me out of my meditation. When I opened my eyes to see who it was, I silently cursed everything that has ever brought me any luck. Apparently, none of it felt like being on my side today. And everything just wanted to piss me off.

"Get out," he ordered after he opened my door.

Slowly, which happened to be as fast as I could, I pulled myself out of the car. He was standing so close to me that my belly was touching him and I could feel the heat of his skin. As if John was an off switch, the baby calmed down immediately and let my bladder and other internal organs have a rest. I closed my eyes and put one hand on my stomach in relief.

"John, I'm not-"

"You can apologize later, Kendall. We have to get to our appointment and then you're coming home with me," John interrupted gruffly.

He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me towards the building. If he honestly thought I was planning on apologizing he was crazy. There was no way that I was going to apologize to him. This past week has been terrible, and I'm positive that it wouldn't have been if John hadn't invited Teddy to stay. I wouldn't have had so many nightmares about the things they did to me.

"John, I don't-"I tried again.

"We'll talk about it later," he said in a low voice as he reached to open the door, "This is not the place. When we get home, I'll talk to you. Until then just shut up."

I watched as he put a smile on his face and we walked through the door. John's smile grew when he saw who was working the desk. He sat me in a chair and told me to wait while he checked me in, forcing me to watch as he flirted with Stephanie. I didn't know how much more I could take. I was physically tired from not sleeping, and in less than ten minutes John had worn me out emotionally as well.

Maybe I could sneak out. It's not like he would notice anyway, he was much too busy with the women he's cheating on me with. I don't know what's worse, the fact that I know or the fact that he knows that I know and he's still with her.

Before I had time to put my plan in motion, John walked back over to me and sat down. When he turned towards me I refused to look at him but he leaned over and put his hands on my belly, pushing slightly.

"Daddy missed you," he whispered when he felt the baby push back against his hand, "But don't worry, I'm not going to let your mean old mom take you away from me ever again. I'll lock her up if I have to."

"Don't do that," I whispered to him, not wanting to be overheard.

"I told you to not talk. You can answer the doctor's questions and that's it. I told you that I'm done playing your games Kendall and I wasn't joking. You don't get to choose anymore, I do. So shut your mouth and sit there like the good wife you're supposed to be and everything with be just fine," he said quietly.

I opened my mouth to respond but found that all my words were caught in my throat. When he was satisfied that I wasn't going to say anything, he went back to talking to the baby and pushing on my belly. Other mom-to-be's around the room were watching us in awe and I wanted to shout that there was nothing great about what John was doing. He wasn't the perfect husband that he was trying to portray and I was fairly certain he wouldn't be the perfect father that he wanted them to believe he'd be.

Purely by accident, I caught Stephanie's eye. We just looked at each other for a minute but before I pulled my eyes away from hers, I saw something there. Something that wasn't what I would have expected from the women who was sleeping with my husband.

I didn't have time to ponder that thought because just as I saw it a nurse called us back to a room.

**John's POV**

Obviously she thought I wasn't going to show up at the appointment. If she had, she wouldn't have gone or she would have changed it to a different day. Stephanie asked me why I was still letting Kendall believe that we were still having an affair and honestly, if she hadn't pulled this latest stunt I would've stopped. But disappearing for a week without so much as a phone call to tell us that she was alright, not okay.

After seeing the baby on the computer and getting pictures printed, which I didn't let her see because I'm such a bastard, I pulled her back out to the car. If I really wanted to be a dick I could have gotten her arrested for stealing my car too. She may be my wife but her name isn't on any of my cars.

"I'm not going home with you," she said, her voice quiet.

"What do you mean you're 'not going home with' me?" I asked through gritted teeth and pushed her towards the passenger's side of the car, "You've been gone for a week Kendall, that's plenty of time to get over your little bitch fit. Get in the damn car and stop trying to make a scene. I'll talk about the rest when we get home."

I opened the door for her and waited until she sat down before slamming the door shut and walking over to the other side of the car. She really didn't plan this out very well. If I were her, I'd have gone to a whole different doctor, not that I'd ever tell her that and put the idea in her head. When I got in the car she started mumbling something to herself.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch it?" I asked.

She sighed before turning and glaring at me, "I said 'I hate you'."

"You're funny," I smirked, "You don't hate me, Kendall. We've already been over that before. As a matter of fact, you love me."

She glared at me but didn't say anything and I knew that I'd hit a sensitive subject. One that hadn't been brought up for too many months. Really, I didn't know how to respond. I didn't feel like she should love me, she didn't even know me. She loves what I give her and I'm sure that her hormones were on overdrive that day; she hasn't said a thing about it since then.

When I pulled up to the driveway and let us in, I say Kendall tense out of the corner of my eye. Then as I parked in the garage and looked over at her, she had her eyes closed tight and her breathing had suddenly become short and fast. She winced a bit and put a hand on the very top of her stomach before visibly relaxing with a shaky breath out.

"What the hell is your issue?" I asked.

"I don't want to be here," she replied, her voice as shaky as the breath she'd let out. She looked over at me and I could see the tears in her eyes, "Johnny please, don't make me go inside."

I rolled my eyes. Calling me by that stupid nickname wasn't going to her from staying in our house. I ignored her pleading and climbed out of the car, walking over to her side. When she didn't get out of the car after I opened the door, I took it upon myself to get her out. One more steadying breath and she shuffled towards the door to go inside.

"Why are you walking like that?" I asked, referring to the way she was somewhat bow-legged, "Been fucking someone on the side?"

"Nope that's your job," she snapped, "The baby pushes on my pelvic muscles and bones. It's like he's trying to make room for himself so he moves everything else out of the way. I just need to walk it out-"

As she opened the door, Ted stood on the other side in the kitchen. To any outsider it seemed that he was filleting salmon for dinner.

"Kenny!" he said, excitedly, "You're home!"

Kendall started shaking her head as he walked toward her, forgetting about the knife in his grip. Her eyes were narrowed in on it however. All at once I heard her take a sharp inhale and watched as Ted stopped walking, his head turning to look at the knife as well. He dropped it as soon as he realized what was happening but it wasn't quick enough. She already had a hand on her chest and, seemingly in slow motion, was dropping to her knees to the floor.

"Shit, Ken. Baby, I need you to breath," Ted coached as he slid to her on his knees now as well.

I watched as her eyes grew wider with panic and realized why she didn't want to be here. It had nothing to do with me. Frozen to the spot, another realization hit me: I'd let her done again, I'd broken another promise.

"John where is her medicine?" Ted asked me.

"What medicine?"

"Her inhaler? Her breathing machines? Anything?" he demanded.

I shook my head to him, "We don't have anything like that. Not that I know of."

"Baby girl, look at me. Where is all your stuff?" he asked, his voice surprisingly calm, "Did you bring it here with you?"

When she shook her head he cursed, but I remembered what happened in the car and was at her side in an instant.

"Priceless, I'm not going to hurt you or our baby," I warned her, "Okay?"

She nodded her eyes still wide. She was gasping for air but it looked as if she couldn't get enough and now she had tears forming in her eyes again. Not so gently, but not hard enough to hurt her or the baby, I prodded her stomach until I felt the baby moving. I looked at Ted, motioning for him to do the same, before going back to it.

Ted and I both felt the nearly violent kick that made Kendall gasp so furiously, it brought her breath back. For a few minutes, she just sat there greedily trying to get more air in her lungs before she just broke down and started sobbing. Ted looked at me for permission before taking her in his arms.

"Kenny, I am so sorry. Please settle down, I don't want you having another episode. I didn't realize I was holding it; I was trying to make dinner. Baby girl, I need you to stop crying," he whispered into the top of her hair as she clung to his forearm.

I kept my hands on her stomach, just because I wanted to make sure that whatever the hell just happened didn't have any kind of effect on the baby. With Kendall not being able to get oxygen, the baby couldn't get oxygen either and that worried me just as much.

"What the hell was that?" I finally asked when Kendall's crying had dimmed down to mere sniffles.

"She has asthma. I'm surprised it hasn't happened before-"

"It has. When she was in the hospital after the Punk thing, she woke up and just couldn't breathe but she told everyone it was a panic attack," I explained quickly.

"It wasn't. It was an asthma attack. I'll see if our mom can find some of her old stuff and sneak it out of the house to send it to me," Ted mused.

"Mom," Kendall said weakly.

**Ted's POV**

Even though her voice was so weak, I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, baby girl," I said softly.

"Get her out too."


	31. Chapter 31

**Err, umm, here. I don't know how I feel about this chapter, but I got in what I wanted to, so I guess that's all that matters, right?  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Kendall's POV<strong>

I didn't want to move. It was oddly comfortable, although we were sitting on the floor in the kitchen, to have my brother holding me the way he was. Teddy was leaving up against the wall across from the kitchen sink with me at his side, his arm tightly hugging me against him while another smoothed the hair on my head.

I wanted to apologize to him for the way I'd reacted but I couldn't find the words. Part of me was thoroughly convinced that I had every right to react the way I did. Given the fact that the last time I saw the man brandishing a knife in my direction, he held me down and cut me. So for that, I couldn't make myself apologize, I'd only done what any normal person would've done.

After a few minutes of silence, and John standing around awkwardly, he cleared his throat. "As much as I hate to break up this lovely brother-sister moment, my wife and I really need to talk."

I sighed when Ted kissed my temple and said, "I understand, John."

"Kendall, do you remember the night you met Hunter, Eve, Kelly, and Evan?" John asked. I nodded slowly, confused as to what that had to do with this. "Good. Go upstairs. I'll be up in a minute."

Still confused, I let my brother help me stand up before walking up the stairs to face my prison sentencing. That's when it hit me; John wanted me to do the same thing I did that night. Looking down at myself, I immediately refused, not that he could see me right this second, but there was no way I was going to stand naked in the middle of our bedroom when I was this fat. Instead, I sat in the middle of the bed with my legs slightly spread to accommodate my ever growing belly, fully clothed. John walked in a few minutes later and glared at me.

"So first you run away and now you're disobeying me?" he asked slowly like he was trying to ask if I was sure about my decision.

Choosing to ignore his question I informed him, "I need to go pick my things up."

"Okay, we'll start there. Where in the hell have you been? I've been searching every hotel and motel from here to Rhode Island-"

"And you came up with nothing?" I interrupted, "Yet you didn't think to look in more obvious places. Did it not occur to you that you could've just checked my credit card records? They would have told you that I was close to home."

"Then you were staying with someone?" he asked, "Who was it?"

"Right, because I'm going to risk getting someone in trouble," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"That narrows it down. It's someone who works for me. I know that Tiny has been staying with Sean. I've even been over there a few times so I know it's not them," he mused more to himself than to me.

"Never said they worked for you," I muttered.

"Are you seeing that cop again?" John demanded.

"Are you seeing Stephanie still?" I countered.

"So what if I am? There's nothing you can do about it," he said with a smirk.

"Then so what if I am?"

"Are you really that stupid, Kendall? The kid didn't want you. Remember? Hell, he didn't really even want to get to me. He wanted McMahon. What do you think 4 months is going to do? Change his mind? It won't make him want you. Especially now that you're all fat and what not," John taunted.

"Is this the reason you wanted me back? So that you could say mean things to me? Do you have any idea how much you sound like my father? He used to say things-"

"Don't you ever compare me to that bastard," he growled from directly on top of me. He'd moved so quick I hadn't even seen it and somehow he managed to get me in the same position as the night I'd left.

"He used to say things to my mom, the same way you say them to me. He used to tell her all the time how stupid she was," I continued as if he hadn't said anything, "When she was pregnant with Brett and I he'd tell her all the time how fat she was. He blamed her, when really it was his fault. Just like it's your fault. I wouldn't be 'all fat and what not' if you hadn't-"

His hand whipped across my face and I felt his wedding ring catch on the skin just next to my lips. I could already feel the blood seeping out as I closed my eyes against the pain.

"I told you to not compare me to him," he said again.

"Then stop doing things the same way he does, John," I replied, "When you do things like this, it's hard to not compare you to him-"

He hit me again, only this time it was harder and when he grabbed onto my upper arms again his grip was bruising. As if that pain weren't enough, I could literally feel my heart ripping in pieces. My chest tightened and my eyes filled with tears. I didn't even have the energy to fight them off; instead I turned my head away from John and let them fall.

John's phone started ringing just after that and when he got off me to answer it I didn't make any efforts to move. Partially because I knew John would yell but also because I just didn't have the energy. I was so tired from having not been sleeping well and just being home seemed to have taken away any strength I'd had before.

"We're having company tonight," John announced as he climbed back onto the bed and pulled me close to him, "God, I missed this."

I rolled my eyes when he laid on his side, put a hand on my stomach, and tucked his face in my neck. "Oh yes. Me too," I answered facetiously, "I love being berated and hit and told to stand naked in the middle of my bedroom just so that my husband can do those things to me. It's the joy of my day really."

**John's POV**

"Is it necessary for you to be a bitch when I'm trying to have a good moment with you?" I asked, a little put back with her sarcasm.

"When I can feel bruises forming on my face and I can feel the cut from your ring on my cheek bleeding, yes it is necessary," she snapped, "Is it possible for you to ever keep a promise?"

"If you would have just listened to me then I wouldn't have hit you," I argued.

"Well, if the shoe fits," Kendall said, trailing off.

"Did your cop teach you how to be a little bitch? Or is that just something you come by naturally?" I taunted.

"He's not my cop, John. And can you let me go? You're smothering the baby. If you really want someone to hold, call your whore."

"So, now you're giving me permission to sleep with her?" I inquired.

"Whatever keeps you the fuck away from me," she responded with disgust, "Just make sure she doesn't have any diseases. I don't want you bringing anything nasty, dirty in the house."

"God, damn woman. Where in the hell have you been?" I repeated me earlier question.

If I wanted to be honest with her, I was actually kind of impressed. She'd never been this brass with me before and I kind of liked it. On another level, I was baffled. How could she go from crying to throwing digs out left and right in less than ten minutes? It didn't make any sense to me.

"I already told you that I'm not going to say. They were worried enough about you being upset with them if you found me there. I'm not going to tell you and have you even more pissed," she countered.

"I've already got the list down to about four or five people. All I need to do is say their name and I know you'll crack. I'll see it in your eyes who the person is," I informed her.

"Try me."

"Fine," I accepted, "First person, that Zack kid who likes to hang around you at parties."

"Zack Ryder?" she asked, laughing when I nodded, "John, that kid deals your drugs. I'm not an idiot."

I rolled my eyes and continued, "Okay, he's not it. What about those two gay guys that work in the office? Don't they live together?"

"Matt Striker and Justin Roberts? No, I don't like guns. And from what I've heard they have them all over their house. And they've bought them all from you. Jeez, isn't it a little bit ridiculous that I know more about the men who work for you than you do?" she replied.

"Whatever, I do paperwork. I'm not into the guns or the drugs," I snapped, "Since those three are out, that really only leave me with one, Eve."

With that, she rolled her eyes, "Honestly, I would have thought you'd check her house first. Or maybe second after Randy's. But no, I wouldn't want to get her in trouble so I would not have gone there."

"You're lying about one of them. I'll find out which one and if I have to threaten their jobs to figure it out I'll do it. If they tell me the truth, however, no trouble will come to them," I warned.

"That's fine," she shrugged.

When I looked at her closely, I saw the black circles underneath her eyes, "Kendall, you look like shit."

"You definitely know how to get to a lady's heart, John," she replied dryly.

"Have you been sleeping?"

"Not really."

"Well, why not? That isn't good for the baby!" I reminded her.

"Yeah, well I figured that waking up screaming in the middle of the night isn't so good either. It's better to not sleep than to have my blood pressure sky rocketing from some stupid nightmare," she replied, again nonchalantly.

I sat up and looked down at her, "What nightmare? Kendall, what the fuck are you talking about?"

"It's nothing to worry about," she said, waving me off, "Nothing I haven't lived through before."

"Nothing you haven't- Hold on. Are you dreaming about what your brothers did to you? About what your dad did to you?"

She scooted to the end of the bed and pushed herself into a sitting position. Shaking her head she turned to look at me and whispered, "If you would've just stayed out of it. Why did you have to invite him to stay?"

An hour later, our 'company' arrived. I'd agreed to watch Alanna for Sam and Randy for the night. I figured it would give Kendall and me somewhat decent practice at being parents. She didn't agree so much and glared at me when I first told her. But after dinner, as I watched her give Alanna a bath I could tell that she was going to be a great mother.

"Auntie Ken doll?" Alanna asked, breaking the silence in the living room.

"Yeah, Skipper."

"Are you still gonna love me?" the little girl asked from where she lay with her head in Kendall's lap, gently petting her belly.

"Why wouldn't I still love you sweetie?" Kendall replied. She looked over at me at Alanna's feet and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, Mama said that when you and Uncle John have the baby that you won't have as much time to play with me," Alanna confided.

"Hey, Alanna look at me," Kendall said pulling her up into a sitting position, "I will never stop loving you. Not ever. You are always going to be my Skipper, no matter who comes into my life. Okay?"

When the little girl nodded, I was taken aback at how similar they looked. Except for the eyes, Alanna had her mom's eyes. Other than that, they could have been mistaken for a mother-daughter set. Seeing them together, made me excited to see what our own would look like.


	32. Chapter 32

**Kendall's POV**

"What are you doing up so late, Kenny?" a voice said from behind me.

I jumped and almost feel off the stool I sat at. "I got hungry," I answered sheepishly as I turned around to see Teddy standing in the doorway, "I didn't wake you up, did I? I was trying to keep the music quiet; it was just too silent without any noise."

"No, you're fine. I was just getting something to drink. Where did you find ice cream?" he asked when he spotted my snack.

"I snuck out. I know I shouldn't have but I've wanted a red velvet cake all day. The only thing open was the gas station up the road and the closest thing they had was this red velvet cake ice cream," I told him without really looking at him.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier? We could have gotten it for you," Teddy assured me, "You didn't have to sneak out."

I scoffed, "Yeah, because I can just ask my big brothers for anything I want. And my husband is particularly happy with me right now and willing to do everything I ask."

"I guess I deserve that," he sighed, "But if John is mad at you it's your own fault. I don't know the reasons you left, but he was pretty lost without you here-"

"He was only lost because he didn't have me here to wash his clothes for him," I interrupted, "Teddy you don't have a clue what goes on behind closed doors so please don't try to make my marriage out to be perfect. It's anything but. And to be honest, John's mad at me because he made a stupid decision without thinking about how it would affect me."

"No, Ken he was really upset that you weren't here for him. He said that you were doing really good for a while after you told him you were pregnant but then he said that you were distancing yourself from him again and he couldn't figure out why-"

"He knows why."

"I don't. Can you explain it to me?" he asked hesitantly. When I shook my head he sighed, "You don't trust me, and I can understand why you don't. But someday I hope that you'll be able to. I want to be in your life Kenny; I want to be the brother you deserve."

"I don't know how long that's going to take," I whispered, willing myself to not break.

"I've hurt you for 24 years; I don't expect it to be an automatic thing. I just hope that you'll be able to forgive me for everything I've done to you. I know you can't forget, I can't even forget what I've done, but I just hope you'll be able to see that I-"

His words were broken off by a loud cry from upstairs. We looked at each other for a second before we both ran towards the stairs. Somehow, I got there first and bolted up them, reaching the room where Alanna was sleeping before Teddy did. When we got there and I flicked the light on, Alanna was sitting up in her bed with tears streaming down her face. I went to her, taking her in my arms as best I could with my stomach being in the way.

"What's wrong, Skipper?" I asked softly as her tears subsided.

"I had a bad dream," she sniffed.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

She shook her head vigorously, "Can I sleep with you and Uncle John?"

I looked over at Teddy, who seemed to be looking at us with something in his eyes that I've never seen. It wasn't the seemingly hatred that he'd always looked at me with.

"How about Uncle Teddy stays here with you while I go and ask Uncle John-"

"No! Please don't leave me Ken doll!" Alanna almost yelled, squeezing me tighter.

"Okay, I won't leave you. I'll take you with me. I'm sure he can't say no if you're already there," I assured her and tried to stand up, grunting as I did so.

Teddy ran over to me and placed a hand on my back, pulling me to my feet with his other hand. I thanked him and said good night before walking to mine and John's room while carrying Alanna on my hip. She laid her head on my shoulder and placed a hand on my stomach. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to wake John up, but when I walked in our room he was sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes.

"Was that you yelling, little one?" he asked, smiling when she nodded, "I thought so. Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry if I woke you up Uncle John. I really didn't mean to scream so loud," Alanna said sadly.

"No, sweetie. You didn't wake me up," John shook his head, "I was already awake when I heard you."

"John, is it alright if Skipper sleeps with us?" I asked as I sat on the bed, "She's kind of afraid to sleep by herself now. If it's not then I'll just go sleep in her room with her, but she asked to stay with both of us."

My heart skipped a beat when he opened his arms up to Alanna. I could only hope that he would be as good with our child as he was with other people's children. Just as that thought entered my mind, the baby inside me kicked hard making me wince.

"Are you okay, Ken doll?" Alanna asked, her tone showing how worried she was.

"I'm fine; the baby must have just woken up. He is kicking like crazy," I told her. Her eyes lit up with joy. "Do you want to feel it?"

She nodded and crawled back over to me, gently placing her hands on my stomach. I had to laugh when she looked up at me, so confused when the baby didn't kick right away. I pushed her hands down harder, disturbing the baby more and when it kicked Alanna jumped away in freight before laughing a deep belly laugh.

**John's POV**

"Where were you?" I asked Kendall as she looked up at me from where Alanna was feeling the baby kick.

"Downstairs," she answered, her smile falling, "I got hungry."

"How did you get the baby in your tummy?" Alanna asked, turning questioning eyes to Kendall.

"Um, well that's something you'll have to ask your mommy, Skipper. And right now I think it's time for bed. It's really late," Kendall replied quickly evading her question. As if on cue, Alanna yawned and relented to lying in the middle of our large bed. It didn't take long for her eyes to flutter and shut.

"What were you eating?" I asked Kendall quietly, making her look away from Alanna and to me.

"Ice cream."

"What kind of ice cream, Kendall?"

She sighed and looked back down at Alanna, "Can we just go to sleep and talk about this in the morning? I'm tired and I really don't want to wake her up."

"So, it's going to piss me off, whatever kind of ice cream you ate. Which means that you didn't eat whatever kind of ice cream we had in the house and you went out and got some yourself," I said, shaking my head, "Are you serious? You couldn't have waited until we woke up and asked for it, you had to go get it yourself."

"John, please don't get angry right now," Kendall said, as she moved her eyes back to me, "I'm sorry that I went out. I didn't eat very much dinner and I was just really hungry and I got a huge craving for red velvet cake. And if the baby hears your voice loud like that one more time he's going to kick me and I'm afraid if he does I'll have a broken rib."

I relented, silently, and we both laughed down on either side of the sleeping Alanna. Never breaking eye contact, it was a weird sort of intimacy that we hadn't shared in a while and it felt good. When I reached over Alanna to place my hand on Kendall's stomach, I could see her relaxing. Somehow, even though I'd been terrible to her, she still found comfort in my touch.

xx

A few hours later, that seemed more like a few minutes; my phone rang on the table beside my bed.

"John," Kendall grumbled, "Answer your phone. Or please just shut it up."

I chuckled slightly as I sat myself up and answered my phone. But the voice on the other line had me wide awake in seconds.

"_I'm sorry, sir. But you were on the first call list. Are you aware that Randy and Sam Orton were out late last night?"_ the voice on the other end of the line asked.

"Yes, I am aware. My wife and I watched their daughter. Is something wrong?"

"_I'm sorry to have to tell you this sir, but on their way home last night, the Orton's were involved in an accident. It was a head on collision, neither of them made it. If you can call the family and let them know what is going on, they will probably want to make arrangements for the child."_

With that, the officer hung up the phone. It felt as if time stood still for a while. The first thought that entered my mind when I could finally think again was Alanna. I knew what would happen with her. When Randy moved here, he put it in his will that Kendall and I would adopt her. He knew that no one would treat her better than Kendall.

"Who was that?" Kendall asked as she woke up more fully. I turned my head to look at her, knowing that I wasn't covering any emotions. "What's wrong?"

I looked down at Alanna before tilting my head towards the bathroom. After helping Kendall stand I walked with her to the bathroom and explained to her what happened. At first she just stared at me, her eyes blank before she shook her head.

"No," she whispered, "John, don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying-"

"This isn't a joke, right now," she practically shouted, "This is my best friend. Do not lie to me about this."

"I promise to you, Kendall. I wouldn't lie about this. But you need to lower your voice before Alanna hears you. We need to have control of ourselves before we can tell her-"

"He's not gone," she denied with tears in her eyes, "He can't be gone. Please, John. Please tell me this isn't true."

"I want to tell you it isn't true, baby," I assured her, taking her in my arms and holding her tightly to me, "I don't want it to be true either. But you can't get worked up like this. I know you're upset and you have every right to be, but you have to think about the baby and Alanna. We need to be here for her. We need to be strong for her."

"I don't know if I can. I don't know if I can be strong without him-"

"You don't need him to be strong. And he is still always going to be in your heart. We'll have him here with us because we'll have Alanna with us. Randy requested, if anything should happen to him and Sam, that we legally adopt her. We'll start that process immediately," I promised.

"How do we tell a 4-year-old that her parents aren't going to be here to pick her up? How do we tell her that she isn't going to able to see them ever again? John, I don't know how to do this," she cried, burying her head in my neck.

"I don't know how to do it either, but we'll do it together. We will tell her together, but we need you to be calm. If you lose it when we tell her, she'll lose it too. If we're strong for her she'll be more at ease to tell us how she is really feeling," I said, rubbing her back, "Let me know when you're ready to go out there. The sooner we tell her, the easier it will be."


	33. Chapter 33

**John's POV**

We'd thought that telling Alanna would be the hardest thing we'd have to do. In reality, going through the funeral and all of the arrangements leading up to the funeral were the hardest. Mainly, watching Alanna say goodbye to her parents when she didn't fully understand why she was doing it or what was going on.

She tried to be as strong as any four-year-old can be and having Kendall be there for her helped her a lot, I know that when she gets older she'll be quite thankful for that. But I could tell that Kendall was getting close to her breaking point. Alanna had point blank refused to leave her side since we told her, unless she had to use the bathroom and even then it was difficult to get the girl to stand outside the door and wait. Really, the only peace Kendall had was when Alanna was sleeping.

Just before the funeral, Alanna had finally told us what her nightmare had been about. And when she said it out loud we realized that she was now living her nightmare. I knew that her revelation had upset Kendall and was just thankful that my parents had offered to hold a small get together at their house after the funeral.

As I sat watching Kendall braid Alanna's hair, I wondered more about why she hadn't wanted kids. She was great with them and they loved her. My nieces and nephews were immediately enamored with her and she had always treated them well. Seeing the way she delicately worked, I couldn't help but wonder if it had more to do with me than anything else and that thought made me angry.

"Ken doll?" Alanna asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, Skipper."

"I'll see Mommy and Daddy again, one day. Right? When I die and go to heaven, they'll be there," the younger girl asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Of course, Alanna. And you're mom and dad will always be looking over you, they'll always be in your heart. They loved you so much," Kendall replied before looking at me, silently asking me if the right time to bring up the adoption situation was now.

"And because they loved you so much, they had plans for you just in case something like this happened. They wanted to be sure you were taken care of if anything happened to them," I started to explain slowly, "Your daddy asked me and Aunt Kendall to adopt you if something happened to him and your mom. But, if you want to go back and see your Grandma and Grandpa that's fine too. We don't want to make you stay here if you don't want to."

"What does adopt mean?" she asked with wide brown eyes.

"It means that you would be our daughter and that you could live with us forever without anyone saying that you had to leave," Kendall said.

"But I wanna be Mommy and Daddy's daughter," Alanna cried.

"Oh, baby, you will always be your mom and dad's daughter. Forever and we would never take that away from you! It's just that, right now people can take you away from us; if we adopt you they can't. You don't even have to call us mom and dad. We can be Uncle John and Ken doll," I told her.

"I want to stay with you. Mommy and Daddy are here," she answered.

Kendall wiped the tears off Alanna's cheeks before pulling her into a hug. It was getting more and more difficult by the day for her to hug anyone by the way that child was growing. I'd read somewhere that when you were pregnant for the first time, you were typically small but in Kendall's case that would not be true. Most of the time she blamed me, saying that since I was so large my baby was going to be so large. I guess she didn't realize that I didn't start to buff up until I was in high school.

"Then we'll start the adoption process Monday morning. I won't go into work and after-"

"John, I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. It's in the afternoon, but should you really be taking all day Monday off when you're going to be taking Tuesday off too?" Kendall asked.

"Who said I was taking Tuesday off?" I snapped, a bit crueler than I meant causing both Kendall and Alanna to look at me with wide eyes.

"I guess you didn't," Kendall stuttered, "I just thought that- never mind."

"Anyway, after we go to the lawyer's office on Monday we can have a picnic or something. It's still nice out-"

"Of course it's still nice Uncle John. It's only August," Alanna said rolling her eyes.

"It starts getting cold in August, goofball. I was thinking we could maybe fly a kite. What do you think?" I suggested, laughing when she nodded eagerly.

"Is Ken doll coming too?" she asked.

"I don't see why not," I conceded, "Well, I think people are going to be arriving soon. We should head out there, after all people are coming to see us three not my parents."

"Is there food?" Alanna asked as we walked down the stairs.

"Yes, why are you hungry? You had a ton of pancakes for breakfast-"

"Food!" she shouted and ran the rest of the way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Where are your manners young lady?" Kendall called after her.

"Please?"

"That's better," she laughed.

"So, remind me again why you didn't want kids," I started as I pulled Kendall away from the kitchen and into an empty room, "or was it that you just didn't want kids with me?"

"It's not you John-"

"That's original. Use the old break up line 'it's not you it's me'. Do you really think I'll believe that? Every kid I've seen you with you've been nothing but perfect," I snorted.

"Okay, first I wasn't going to say that, I was going to say that I didn't want to turn out like my parents and treat my children the way my parents treated me and my brothers. Second, do we really need to talk about this right now? I've got other things on my plate right now," she countered

"No. We'll talk about it now because you'll find some way of getting out of it later," I said stopping her from leaving the room, "Why is it okay when it's someone else's kids but not when it's mine?"

"What does it matter anymore?" she asked, throwing her hands up in the air, "I'm pregnant with your baby, John. You're getting what you wanted, please just leave it alone. If you want to talk about it later, that's fine but right now, I have to go deal with people telling me how sorry they are for my loss."

**Kendall's POV**

The rest of the day passed by in a blur of tons of people I hardly knew telling me they'd bring some kind of dinner over at some point during the next week and asking what kind of food John and Alanna liked best. There was a small portion of my brain that was telling me that Randy's family should be with us but it was their decision to not come, their decision to not help with any of the arrangements.

When John, Alanna, and I finally got home, Alanna was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. She allowed John to carry her upstairs and actually put her in her own bed for the first time in the week since the night her parents died.

"How are you holding up, Kenny?" Teddy asked, shocking me.

"I'll be okay, I guess. There's nothing I can really do other than try to move on and help Alanna with whatever she needs. I just hope she doesn't grow up to resent me, I want to be good enough for her," I said as I lowered my tone when I finally voiced my fears.

"Why wouldn't you be good enough for her? You've already been amazing and unbelievably strong for her. She couldn't resent you, not ever," he said, trying to assure me.

"You don't see what I see. You use to see it, though. And it has more to do with the fact that I didn't have the best examples as parents. I don't know how to be a good parent for her; I can't measure up to Sam. I don't even know how I'm going to take care of my own child, Teddy," I admitted.

"Then why did you do it? Why did you get off you birth control?"

"I didn't have a choice," I whispered so quietly I didn't think he heard me.

"You always have a choice," he shouted.

"Not when it's being forced to choose between having a baby or sending your best friend back and letting your brother use her as his personal sex slave. I did what I had to do," I shouted back.

"Did he force you to have sex with him?" Ted asked his voice deceptively calm.

Just behind him John scoffed, "I have never once forced her to have sex with me. Every single time we've had sex, she's been willing. If you have a problem with me, then I suggest you take it up with me instead of interrogating Kendall about it."

"I don't have a problem with you. I just don't like the way you're treating my sister-"

"Really?" John laughed, "I have to say that I'm treating her a hell of a lot better than you and your family did. Kendall, have you been locked in your room once since you've been here?"

"Technically, no but-"

"Have I kept food from you since you've been here?"

"That would fully be a no. But you did lock me in that one room the day I got here," I blurted out quickly before John got the chance to interrupt me, "Which reminds me, do you still have that damn snake?"

"You locked her in a room? With a snake?"

"You locked her in a fucking room. With no food. And cut her. Honestly, you don't have any room to talk, Ted. You used her to get ahead. I have never once used her," John yelled.

"Please don't yell," I whispered, feeling the baby kick uncomfortably.

"You did use her. All of you up here used her and she ended up in the hospital-" Ted shouted back, either ignoring me or not hearing my plea.

"I told them not to do that. I begged them not to do that and if I recall correctly, your family agreed when the idea was first brought up to you. They told me that I didn't have any say because we weren't in the country. She has only been in the hospital once since she's been here. How many times has she been, or should she have been, since she's been born?" John ranted.

"John please," I said a little louder when the baby kicked my ribs harder.

They went back and forth for a few more minutes, though I couldn't tell you exactly what they were arguing about. The baby just kept kicking in the same spot, his foot lodging itself directly between my ribs each time it connected. When I felt the tunnel vision come on, I knew something was going wrong but I just couldn't voice it before the darkness hit.


	34. Chapter 34

**This is the last chapter of How To Love. I am sure there will be a sequel once I finish, or come close to finishing, my other stories. I'm not sure when that will be though, so keep an eye open for it. Yeah, so.  
>Thank you so much for all of your reviews, it really does mean a lot to me! And thank you all for sticking with this story from the beginning!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Ted's POV<strong>

When Kendall hit the floor it seemed like the whole world stopped. Luckily, she didn't hit her head on the countertop but it can damn close. John and I looked at each other for a millisecond before rushing to her side.

"Kendall, wake up," John shouted as he pushed her hair out of her face.

I couldn't understand what happened. We were just talking; nothing was going on but-

"Johnny, it hurts," Kendall mumbled holding her stomach.

"What hurts? Is it the baby? Is the baby hurt?" he asked the panic obvious in his voice.

"No, the baby hurt me," she gasped out, "I can't breathe either."

"John, it's got to be something with her lungs. Right now, with the way she's laying on her back, the baby is crushing her lungs. We need to get her to stand up," I said, trying to take control of the situation, "If she still can't breathe after that, we need to get her to a hospital. With her asthma it's not good to go around with damaged lungs."

"Okay, help me stand her up."

She whimpered the whole time as we brought her to her feet which told me that it was more than just her lungs. There was something more wrong. I finally convinced John to let me take her to the emergency room while he stayed home with Alanna. He was pissed at first but when I pointed out the fact that she was deathly afraid of me he changed his tune.

While we were at the emergency room, the doctors asked Kendall what happened a million times. I think they were trying to see if her story changed, finally I got sick of it.

"Her husband and I were arguing. The baby didn't like all the screaming and started kicking, or maybe he did like it and got a little excited and kicked too much. He kicked too hard and hurt her and she passed out. John and I were standing right there, we woke her up less than a minute later. When I realized it was more than just her lungs, I convinced her to come here," I all but shouted, "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"No, sir. That about does it," the nurse answered, "We are going to set up and ultrasound to check on the baby as well as take your blood pressure. If they were arguing it is most likely high which is probably what caused the baby to start kicking. If anything is broken I'll be able to see that with the ultrasound machine. I'll be back in just a few minutes."

When she walked out of the room, Kendall let out of sigh of relief, "Thank you, Teddy. I wanted to punch her in her face."

"So did I," I said with a laugh, "I'm sorry about starting an argument with John. I just want to make sure he's treating you right."

"Teddy, no offense or anything, but I don't think you are the right person to judge on whose treating me right," she replied.

"I know, and you're right. But I want to start over-"

"Alright. Let's see that baby!" the nurse exclaimed coming back into the room.

She explained some stuff to Kendall that I really wasn't listening to before she put some kind of goo on her stomach and used some kind of 'wand' as she called it to look at the baby. It was actually pretty cool seeing the baby moving.

"Okay. From what I can see, you have two broken ribs, one on each side. This is what I'm thinking happened with the way your babies are positioned: your son kicked on the right side at the same time as your daughter kicked on the left side. They broke both ribs at the same time-"

"Hold on. Babies? Son _and_ daughter?" Kendall asked, her voice raising a couple octaves, "There are two of them?"

"Yes ma'am, there are two of them. You are having a boy and a girl, congratulations," the nurse answered with a smile on her face.

"She didn't want to know the sex of the babies," I said coldly, "It should say that in her file."

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't see anywhere in her file that said not to say. Anyway, the only thing we can really do for your ribs is to wrap it. We can't give you any medicine without hurting the babies-"

"Are you sure there are two? I mean, maybe you were seeing things-"

"No ma'am, there are definitely two of them. Like I was saying, if you could stand up I will wrap your ribs up nice and tight. I've already got another nurse working on your discharge papers, I can tell that you are ready to get home," the nurse said calmly, ignoring my glare.

The whole way home, Kendall was muttering to herself. The most I could make out of what she was saying was that John was going to kill her. I couldn't really understand anything else.

"So, Kenny, have you thought of any names?" I asked, trying to take her mind off of the bad side of things.

"Yeah," she said rather shyly, "For a boy, I want to name him Nova, Jonathon Nova Anthony Cena. I haven't really thought about a name for a girl though. I was set on only having one, and on it being a boy. John is going to kill me after these kids come out."

I gave up after that. We were close to home anyway and I knew she wouldn't open up to me anymore than she had already.

**Kendall's POV**

When we finally got home after spending what felt like all night in the hospital, I felt like my stomach and my heart were lodged in my throat. I was so unbelievably nervous to tell John. I mean, I always knew it was a possibility that I'd have twins, seeing as I was a twin myself, but I never thought it'd be my first pregnancy.

John met us at the car as soon as Teddy parked it and pulled me out, immediately asking if I was okay. As much as I tried, I couldn't make myself look him in the eyes. I just knew he'd be upset.

I took a deep breath before answering, "I'll be alright. It's not that bad, really. The babies just kicked me in either side of my ribs at the same time. They each broke a rib at the same time and the pain from that is what made me pass out. Other than that I'll be fine."

"So you have two broken ribs? Well, you've been through that before- wait a second. Did you say 'babies'? As in more than one?" John asked.

"Yes," I whispered, "Can we talk about this inside? Privately?"

He reluctantly relented, I think more so because he wanted to talk about it right away. I just wanted to check on Alanna and get into bed. I didn't want to discuss the fact that I had two babies growing inside of me and I still had to tell him that I knew the sex of each of them.

Once we got upstairs, he tried rushing me into our bedroom but I pushed him away. After spending more time in Alanna's room than I really needed to seeing as the girl was sound asleep, I slowly made my way to the master bedroom. My heart was thumping so hard, I was sure he could hear it before he could even hear me walk into the room.

"Are you sure there are two of them?" he asked as soon as he looked up from where his eyes were plastered to the floor.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. The lady said that's how my ribs were broken; they were both broken from the inside and more than likely at the same time. I don't really know what else you want to know John. She said I passed out from the pain of the bones breaking at the same time. It's weird though, I didn't really feel the pain until you woke me up. I mean, I felt something move and then I got tunnel vision but-"

"Kendall you are rambling," John interrupted, "Why didn't you tell me that something felt weird?"

"I tried to. I asked you to stop. The baby was moving too much, he was kicking too much and it was feeling weird. Whenever he or I guess they, hear your voice they get so excited and just start kicking and moving and they don't stop to think that they are hurting me," I explained.

Honestly, I wanted to kick him. He had been so involved with his argument with my brother that he hadn't even been paying any attention to me. What if I had gone into labor? What if it had been one of the kids that had gotten hurt? I made a decision right then and there.

"So what now?" he asked.

"Now we have to get another bed, another car seat, and another stroller. We need more clothes, more bottles, and I think I want to set up another room for another nursery. I mean, we have the space, why not use it. When they get older it's not like they'll want to share rooms. Brett and I didn't, these two wont either," I told him.

"Wait, did they tell you what we're having?" he asked, anger showing in his tone of voice.

"I didn't ask, I swear. The nurse just blurted it out and when Ted yelled at her about it she said there wasn't anything in my file that said I didn't want to know," I answered quickly, "But I've already got a boy name picked out, I think you'll like it."

"What are we having?"

"A boy," I said slowly, "And a girl."

"What's the name?" I knew he wouldn't care about the girl. They never care about the girls.

"I want to call him Nova, but name him Jonathon Nova Anthony. You said that you wanted to go with the two middle names and I figured it would get confusing calling him John, but I really like Nova," I told him before mumbling, "Not that you care what I like."

"It's okay."

"Um, do you maybe want to think of names for our daughter?" I asked.

"No, you can do that."

"John, please? Can you think of three names that you like together?" I practically begged.

The tone of my voice must have gotten to him because he looked thoughtful for awhile before he said, "Noelle Sicily Jane."

"I like it. It's really pretty," I told him with a smile.

"Yeah."

"Okay, ya know what John. I'm done. I can't do this anymore," I finally said after a few minutes of silence.

"Do what, Kendall?"

"This!" I yelled, motioning between the two of us, "I have to stay here and be married to you, fine. But I can't do any more than that."

"Any more than what?" John asked, "You are making any sense right now. And honestly, you're just being dramatic."

"John, when I asked you why you slept with Stephanie, you said it was because I wasn't giving you what you needed emotionally at first-"

"Because you weren't talking to any of us!" he shouted.

"And I get that. But I'm trying to talk to you right now and you're shutting me out. You aren't physically incapable of loving me, because you've done it many times. You are, however, emotionally incapable of loving me and I can't keep giving you my heart if you won't give me anything in return," I told him, trying my hardest not to cry, "I'll be your wife physically and I'll do what you ask of me when it comes to your physical needs, but I can't do anything more than that. The only thing that I ask in return is that you love your children unconditionally, both of them."

"Why are you saying this?"

"Because I love you, but you either can't or won't love me back. And it breaks my heart every day because you know that I love you and you're not doing anything about it. So I'm doing something about it. I'm cutting myself off from you emotionally because I can't keep getting lost in what I want you to say or show when I know it'll never happen," I said before walking out of the room and into a guest room, knowing that would be the first night of many lonely nights in that room.


	35. Chapter 35

**I've just uploaded the sequel to How To Love. It's titled Show Me How To Love. I hope you all like it!**


End file.
